Kūpuna at risk: How federal changes to SNAP impact older adults in Hawaiʻi
Even within these new constraints, Hawaiʻi can innovate by combining or re-imagining existing programs to expand access and strengthen support for our seniors.
Hawaiʻi families deserve better: How federal cuts to nutrition programs will impact our state
With grocery prices still soaring and food insecurity on the rise, this is the worst possible time to shrink our nation's most important anti-hunger program.
Highlights of the Hawaiʻi 2023 Supplemental Budget
After two pandemic-constrained years, surprisingly strong finances have enabled legislators to make unprecedented investments in long-underfunded areas.
Hawaiʻi’s missed opportunity to invest in working families
The legislature chose to prioritize protecting businesses from tax increases, rather than investing in working families who were struggling long before the onset of the pandemic.
The House’s budget proposal for the coming year
Buoyed by increasing tax collections and continued federal relief funds, the state House sent the Senate an amended budget that proposes to increase the executive budget by $1.3 billion.
How to plug Hawaiʻi’s budget gap while preserving critical services like education
There’s no doubt that the recession has punched a hole in Hawaiʻi’s state budget, but there are ways to plug the gap without cutting critical services.
Cutting state contracts would hurt the private sector economy
Cutting contracts with nonprofit organizations that provide essential services would be as devastating to the economy as cutting state worker hours.
Unemployed workers in Hawaiʻi can’t wait for Congress
Hawaiʻi has more than 200,000 unemployed workers and contractors. The state must move now to offer immediate support for these workers and their families.
Counties may need to fill gaps left in state coronavirus response
Some 35,000 additional households could fall into poverty or financial insecurity by the end of the year unless these gaps in state funding are addressed.
Setting the stage for a crucial June special session
CARES Act funds must be spent by the end of December, and careful decisions need to be made to address critical needs in our community.