The Hawaii House and Senate introduced eight bills as part of a package aiming to provide economic benefits for Hawaii's working class families, the state legislature announced recently.
The joint legislative bill package hopes to tackle some of the issues highlighted in the Aloha United Way's ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) report, which describes the economic hardships facing many working individuals and families in Hawaii.
According to the report, a family of four needs to earn roughly $77,000 a year to financially survive in the Islands.
To address these concerns, the package includes bills that would provide tax relief, increase the minimum wage, develop leasehold housing, and provide tax exemptions for developers to build market price homes. Additionally, some of the measures center on securing funding for infrastructure development near rail stations in West Oahu, among other key issues.
Pacific Business News chatted with interim president and CEO of Aloha United Way, Norm Baker, about the package who said "all eight bills are meant to go as a package complementary to one another."
"We will either have to increase the income or decrease the household living expenses," Baker told PBN. "[The bills being introduced] are meant to be taken as a group of actions."
Among the bills being introduced, Baker says he is watching House Bill 2541, which will make the state earned income tax credit refundable and permanent, along with increasing the minimum wage rate to $11 per hour effective Jan. 1, 2021 and to $13 per hour beginning in 2024.
"There would be a substantial increase in disposable increase if the bill is passed – substantial change," Baker said. "We will make a change in the financial health of our community."
Feb 4, 2020, 5:51pm EST