Governor Josh Green, M.D. has amended the Emergency Proclamation on Homelessness he signed earlier this week during his State of the State address.

The proclamation allows for exemptions from certain processes that typically delay projects in order to expedite construction of low-impact kauhale, or tiny home communities. “

In a statement Governor Green said, “We amended our homelessness emergency proclamation to reflect guardrails that will ensure we don’t have to choose between our kuleana to culture and land, and our responsibility to the people who are most vulnerable in our communities.”

The initial emergency proclamation contains the same language as previous proclamations in effect from 2015 to 2020, that allowed for expedited construction of kauhale including Pu‘uhonua o Wai‘anae  ̶  a project that was 100-percent community-driven.

Past proclamations had no rules or processes guiding how projects would qualify, or  how basic considerations of life-safety, the environment, culture, or other considerations would be addressed.

Fewer than one dozen projects were built during the 2015 to 2020 Emergency Proclamation period, largely led by County or State governments, using public funding. 

The amended emergency proclamation expires March 20, 2023, the same end date as the original document signed earlier this week.