Gov. David Ige’s Year 1 honeymoon with his former lawmaker colleagues has clearly come to an end. His State of the State address, delivered Monday, was received by a state Capitol crowd who listened politely but a bit more impatiently.
Ige unveiled an ambitious agenda in the speech, one that proposes to pay for them through public-private partnerships that could leverage the taxpayers’ resources that are under great demand.
The priorities he outlined are important ones, placing particular attention on critical needs for affordable housing, health services, school improvements and, to name just one element in the state’s aging infrastructure, a replacement for the Oahu Community Correctional Center.
Good intentions notwithstanding, the legislators and Ige’s constituents have the right to expect some firm plans on implementing such a wish list. There will have to be some difficult choices to make in the coming budget battles, so the former longtime state senator will have to present a practical yet inspiring game plan to convince his former colleagues he can gain ground on these long-needed programs.
Ige started with a description of the Thirty Meter Telescope controversy, an opportunity for a bold statement favoring the forward-looking development and what it could bring to Hawaii. Instead, Ige said he “personally” supports the telescope but added that “the state didn’t do the right things in the approval process.”
The Hawaii Supreme Court indeed ruled that the state did not follow the correct procedure for the TMT contested-case hearing and rescinded its permit. But the project itself would be a great asset; the equivocating messaging from the governor surely disappointed advocates hoping for more overt support.
Most of his remarks, however, did showcase some creative, aggressive thinking. Among them:
>> Honolulu’s rail project and the redevelopment associated with it create the optimal conditions for public-private cooperation in Kalihi. Specifically, it enables finding a new home in Halawa for the overcrowded Oahu Community Correctional Center and using that land for housing, recreation and commercial enterprises, all of which the district desperately needs.
The bill the governor will introduce to move that forward deserves full consideration by lawmakers.
>> A proposal to tap $100 million in the state’s Green Energy Market Securitization (GEMS) fund for heat abatement in schools is an inventive idea. The bonds that supply the fund are secured by a fee on ratepayers’ electric bills, and they enable financing for clean energy improvements for homeowners, renters and nonprofits, including schools.
This notion, however, needs to be detailed fully to assess its impact on the public and on the GEMS fund itself.
>> Homelessness crisis services are perhaps the most urgent need for the state. Here again, Ige is looking to private partners to achieve his goals. One is Aloha United Way to develop a referral system aimed at rapid rehousing of people who fall into homelessness. There’s also the Family Assessment Center in Kakaako, an expanded Housing First program and other initiatives.
The state is long overdue in stepping up its homelessness outreach, so let’s hope its prominence in the governor’s job list brings results.
>> Cutting back the state’s deplorable deficit of affordable rental units is rightfully another top-rank concern. So Ige’s bid for a $75 million infusion into the Rental Housing Revolving Fund and $25 million for the Dwelling Unit Revolving Fund — which underwrites infrastructure development — has merit.
It’s a daunting list, and lawmakers have expressed doubts in the administration’s record to date. They cite for one issue, the failure of the agencies to manage their federal funding resources.
Ige has to bridge that credibility gap to win lawmakers’ crucial cooperation. The 2016 session is make-or-break time to move some of these goals from wish to reality.
