Gov. Josh Green’s finger may not be on the button, although in discussions late last year, he started to mention “the nuclear option.”

The “button option” Green refers to is the amazing power given to Hawaii governors to get around almost all state laws by announcing that Hawaii’s health and safety are at risk and an emergency must be declared. Housing, Green said, is at that level and he has issued three proclamations declaring that because an emergency exists, he must act to “provide relief for disaster damages, losses, and suffering, and to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the people.”

In an email interview, Green told me he is serious.

“The Emergency Proclamations on Housing and Homelessness will be extended until we have authorized and launched enough housing to help local families,” he said.

“Long term, we need to build many houses and get short-term rentals into the local housing market.”

This was Green’s third housing emergency proclamation. It was issued Dec. 22 of last year, saying he now has the power “to expedite the construction, repair, renovation, and occupancy of affordable housing and infrastructure projects intended to provide emergency relief under this Proclamation.” The action allows Green to suspend statutes and regulations.

In November interviews, Green told Star-Advertiser reporters that the response to the housing crisis created by Maui’s deadly wildfires “could serve as a new model to convert short-term vacation rentals across the state into badly needed long-term housing for residents.

“The temporary moratorium on short term rentals in West Maui is a different issue and will be pursued if we don’t get enough homes into our program to move displaced Maui residents into long term housing. I will prioritize displaced local families over short term rentals, many of which are owned by mainland investors.”

Green noted that even Maui Mayor Richard Bissen would have new powers. For instance he could change the laws to give long-term housing preference to fire survivors, Green said.

“Under emergency rules, the mayor has a need to house his people,” Green told the Star-Advertiser.

The fires destroyed 3,700 structures and homes, which officials said included 561 families that owned and occupied their homes plus 1,800 families that were renting.

Experts with the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO) said in their end-of-the-year forecast that Green would provide for “expedited approval for a wide range of housing developments by eliminating many of the regulatory hurdles required for new projects.” The group did warn that “Maui rebuilding efforts will entail a significant expansion of the state’s construction workforce and the supporting infrastructure of land use and permitting agencies … This may crowd out other important building projects, drive up construction costs, and impose ongoing stress on the existing Maui housing stock. It will also necessarily strain State and County budgets.”

The end result is that emergency or not, superpowers or not, Maui’s wildfires and the resulting statewide toll of human tragedy and economic pain will be with Hawaii for many years.

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays. Reach him at 808onpolitics@gmail.com.