North Shore NewsBuilding a People’s Budget for Hawaiʻi: Honoring the Legacy of Waialua and Mokulēʻia
As we wrap up our People’s Budget series, I am inspired by the deep engagement and shared purpose of our community. In Waialua, Mokulēʻia, and the broader HD 46 district, we have been coming together in community meetings and listening sessions over the past six months to craft a legislative agenda rooted in the values of resilience, justice, and sustainability. Our district’s history as a vital agricultural hub and our enduring commitment to community care provide a strong foundation for this work.
In a community that has long depended on agriculture, protecting land is a top priority. That’s why our agenda includes measures to block foreign and corporate ownership of agricultural land, ensuring that Hawaiʻi’s lands remain in local hands. This, along with a strong “land gains” conveyance tax on agricultural lands, will discourage speculative development and preserve agricultural integrity. We are also introducing legislation to prevent dangerous pesticide drift around homes, schools and hospitals, and a bill that will strengthen our previous work on healthy soils.
Our community’s call for sustainability is loud and clear. Making sure that renewable energy projects like solar farms, water catchment systems, cesspool conversion and rooftop solar for vehicles align with our communities’ plans is critical for local empowerment. Equally vital is protecting food security by investing in farm-to-school programs, local agriculture, food safety training for farmers and apprenticeships for regenerative farming practices.
In our district, the land has long provided, and restoring that connection—through watershed restoration, shoreline protection and support for community food production—echoes our shared values. As one participant put it, “We already know how to feed ourselves. We just need to invest in it.”
The rising cost of living is pushing kamaʻāina out of their homes. Affordable housing must be a priority, with creative solutions like kauhale (community villages) and policies to protect local families from displacement, like a property tax surcharge on luxury non-owner occupied residences and reasonable protections against rent gouging, will help us house our local families.
Our community is still experiencing the challenges of economic transition. Investing in the P-20 education pipeline, including our workforce development pipelines, supporting small businesses, centering local food production for local consumption, and investing in green jobs reflect our desire to build a self-sufficient future while staying rooted in the values of our past.
Reintroducing SB301 from 2019, which subjects Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to full taxation, along with increasing corporate taxes, changing the state estate tax exclusion and modifying recent income tax legislation to provide more equity will also generate critical revenue for public services, better support for our public workers, and more capacity for enforcement and implementation of existing law.
Education remains central to economic justice. Initiatives like universal free school meals, public preschool, wraparound community school support and more attention to civic literacy will empower every child, while shifting to authentic assessment practices will help us honor the great diversity of strengths in our young people. These investments honor our schools’ role as gathering spaces and the foundation of our future.
Caring for one another has always defined our community. Your calls for affordable childcare, expanded mental health services, and integrated healthcare reflect this ethos. Strengthening child welfare services— through better staffing, independent oversight, and trauma-informed care—is a clear priority for protecting our keiki and supporting their families. Equally important is ensuring our kūpuna are cared for, with food security programs and accessible home care. These initiatives honor the generations that built our communities and inspire us to provide for the next.
We are still collecting input and recommendations on the most important and urgent investments we can make for our community – please go to this link to share your mana’o: https://tinyurl.com/HIBudgetPriorities
The People’s Budget isn’t just about numbers—it’s about building a future that honors our history and embraces our shared values. Thank you for trusting me to carry your voices into the legislative process. Together, we are creating a Hawaiʻi where every family can thrive, now and for generations to come.
Mahalo nui loa for your engagement, ideas, and aloha. Let’s move forward with the same spirit of connection and care that has defined us for so long.