We’ve written before about the state’s new “green fee,” a 0.75 percent TAT increase projected to raise about $100 million a year and push Hawaiʻi’s tourism taxes to among the highest in the country. The pitch was clear: climate resilience, environmental protection, and more sustainable tourism. The concern was just as clear: whether the money actually stays dedicated, or eventually drifts into the general fund.
That question came up again in a recent NPR interview with Jeff Mikulina, chair of the Green Fee Advisory Council. According to Mikulina, the council reviewed more than 600 project proposals totaling over $2 billion in requests and has now sent a first-year funding portfolio to the governor. The focus is on ready-to-go projects with visible impact, particularly around wildfire mitigation, climate risk, and heavily impacted areas.
All of that sounds right. Hawaiʻi has heard similar promises before. Dedicated funds tend to be “dedicated” until budgets get tight. Cruise ship contributions are still tied up in court, federal funding has been pulled back, the Hawaiʻi economy is staring at a softer 2026, and the temptation to repurpose dollars never really goes away.
The green fee may be the right idea. But the real test is whether residents can actually point to meaningful projects and say, “That’s where the money went.”
