As Gov. Josh Green prepares his 2026 campaign for reelection, he apparently is confident enough to edge into the next election with a call for new taxes.
In a statement earlier this month, Green announced that he is calling for a “$50-per-head visitor climate impact fee on visitors.”
In a Star-Advertiser report, Green said the money would go for “state-owned public recreational natural resources, such as parks, trails, forests, etc.”
The impact fee proposal has been closely supported by Green during his gubernatorial campaign and he is not wavering, despite concerns that a conservative national political mood would temper plans to raise taxes.
Because the fee would not be levied on local residents, only tourists, it has not attracted much local attention, but a tax is still a tax. The governor, however, says the money is needed.
In his discussion of fee increases, Green was confident they are essential. He pointed to what he said is $200 million that Hawaii will need annually to respond to climate change and to “lower insurance costs, fortify the shoreline and protect oceanfront communities.”
In his last State of the State message, Green said the revenues generated from the “visitor green fee” will also go toward increased local housing. Like Hawaii governors before him, Green has incorporated a need for more new housing plans into his state administration plans.
“If we have enough housing, it becomes much more affordable to live in Hawaii,” the governor said in the previous news report.
“We’re short on nurses. It’s because they can’t find housing. We’re short on police,” he said. “It’s because salaries can’t keep up with housing needs and so on. So housing is our top priority as we also lower the cost of living by lowering taxes.”
According to national surveys, Green’s job performance is well liked and meets with local approval.
Green ranks sixth nationally in governor approval ratings. According to a national tally in the Star-Advertiser, he ranks in the top 10 in approval ratings compared with the rest of America’s governors.
Morning Consult, an independent pollster that conducts political polling and continues to track this year’s presidential race, placed Green sixth most popular in the nation, with a 62% approval rating that “likely reflects a solid base of support among Hawaii’s electorate,” according to news reports. The Cato Institute — which leans conservative and advocates for small government — ranked Green tied for seventh among all governors.
Green welcomed the praise, saying, “We’re working as hard as we can 24/7 on cost of living issues, lowering taxes, building housing and addressing homelessness, so it’s very gratifying to have this support from our people.”
For Green, 54, there appears to be all green lights for another successful campaign.
Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays. Reach him at 808onpolitics@gmail.com
