Governor submits budget as conflicts with Trump, insurance companies loom

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Gov. Josh Green laid out details of his $21-billion, two-year state budget Monday as it was sent to the legislature for consideration.

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With extra money in billion-dollar surpluses and emergency funds, there’s money for many priorities including everything from wildfire prevention to more pre-school classes and teachers.

While the financial picture is rosy, there are clouds on the horizon.

Although there is revenue enough to afford tax cuts that were approved this year, the governor says there are risks from the insurance crisis and the incoming Trump administration.

The governor is already off to a rough start with President-elect Trump, by blasting Health and Human Services nominee Robert Kennedy, Jr. and is now refusing to let Hawaii National Guard troops assist in mass deportations.

Green said Trump representatives have already asked Governor if their guard units would help.

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“Please, no,” the Democratic governor said. “We’re going to need our National Guard for our own emergency work. So, there’s going to be a lot of different dynamics.”

He said other governors have had the same answer.

In his press conference, the governor also said he’s worried about potential Medicaid rollbacks, and set aside $3 million to assist women with reproductive health care. There’s an extra $10 million to the Attorney General’s office to challenge administration policies.

“If they have to hire up more support or participate in lawsuits that are national, that would need to protect our people,” the governor said.

House Minority Floor Leader Diamond Garcia responded for state House Republicans.

“President Trump won both the Electoral College and the popular vote, coming in with a clear mandate,” Garcia said. “And it’s not up to Josh Green to waste $10 million of Hawaii’s hard-earned taxes to undermine the will of the American people.”

After the Maui fires, the state realized two big problems with the insurance industry: First, that insurers are demanding to be paid out of the proposed $4 billion settlement, and that they might blame the fires to pull out of the market, despite the governor saying they are very profitable here.

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“They should not pull out of the market, but I’m being firm about not giving back any settlements of the insurers, I don’t think it’s appropriate,” Green said. “So, if they end up getting angry, we will have to set up a captive insurance fund.”

Such a state-owned non-profit insurer could cost $100 million to get started, Green said.

He also will seek a tourist tax increase and more impact fees to prevent and mitigate other climate impacts.

“We really need about $200 million a year, if you if you want to dive into it deeply, and that is to get enough monies to deal with shoreline erosion, beach loss, fire breaks and so on.”

Garcia argues that the state’s surpluses should be returned to the taxpayers.

“We’re raking in more revenue than we even project ourselves to take in,” Garcia said. “The money should go back to the people as the constitution outlines.”

The governor also said there will be another windfall to the Treasury coming in January, but he wouldn’t say what it was.

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