Priorities | Derek Turbin for State House

Lower the Cost of Living

Expand the State Insurance Relief Fund to cover Homeowners Insurance
- Effect: Prevent rising premiums for homeowners (which may otherwise result in higher rents for local families)
- Background: Last session SB1044 passed, which reactivated the Hurricane Relief Fund to help stabilize property insurance costs.
- If Elected: To combat the rising premiums of homeowner's property insurance, I would advocate for legislation to expand the Hurricane Relief Fund to cover homeowners’ property damage resulting from Tropical Storms.
Support Paid Family Leave
- Effect: Provides flexibility for families who must care for loved ones (which may otherwise require costly child/in-home care).
- Background: In previous sessions, HB755 failed to advance.
- If Elected: I will advocate for the passage of HB755, which establishes a comprehensive family and medical leave insurance program.

Small Business

Invest more in Mental Healthcare Programs & Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Programs
- Effect: With so many suffering from mental and addiction issues, supporting these programs will help with some of the root causes.
- If Elected: I will seek additional ways of funding these programs, including supporting related non-profits through the Grants in Aid program
Support efforts to build more affordable housing
- Effect: Housing remains one of the biggest costs for local families. Enhanced housing options support financial stability, which strengthens the family and community wellbeing.
- If Elected: I will support bills to help streamline burdensome zoning and land use ordinances, as well as bills that make owning and renting a home more affordable for local families.
Advocate for more HPD presence in the back of Palolo Valley and on St. Louis Heights and Wilhelmina Rise during late night hours
- Effect: The mere presence of our brave men and women in blue is a positive impact for our areas most affected by crime
- If Elected: I will collaborate with my colleagues in the C&C of Honolulu and with HPD district leadership to advocate for enhanced staffing for the beats in our district.

Expanding voter registration and voting rights in Hawai‘i
- Effect: Our democracy is stronger when more of our residents are engaged and active in the political system
- If Elected: I will continue to support efforts such as SB2239, which supported voter registration in Hawai'i
Support equal protection for all residents
- Effect: Under our State Constitution, everyone’s rights should be protected
- Background: As Chair of the Democratic Party of Hawai'i, I led an aggressive campaign to pass "Yes on 1" to strengthen protections for marriage equality in our State Constitution.

Small Business

Enhancing resources to protect our natural spaces
- Background: Last session, HB2218 was passed, which provided DLNR with additional tools to support the protection of our parks and green spaces.
- If Elected: I will work with DLNR to continue to advocate for programs and support that were enhanced under HB2218 to maintain public parks and to protect cultural sites, watersheds, and ecosystems by empowering the communities that know these places best to lead their stewardship.
Community-led park cleanups
- Background: I have participated in community cleanups of Palolo District Park and Mau'umae Nature Park
- If Elected: I will use my reach as an elected official to organize more community cleanups for our parks in District 21.

Installing more traffic safety measures in our neighborhoods
- Background: Our district has far too many areas and intersections that experience significant issues with speeding and car accidents. These areas include 9th Avenue, 10th Avenue, Palolo Avenue, 16th Avenue, Wilhelmina Rise, Bertram St, and St. Louis Drive.
- If Elected: I will work with the State Department of Transportation and the City & County (e.g., the Safer Streets Program) to advocate for the installation of more traffic safety measures, which will help keep our roadways safe.

Small Business

Enhance programs to prevent and mitigate the harms of invasive species
- If Elected: One of my first priorities as a Legislator will be to fight for more funding to the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity for their invasive species division to address coqui frogs, feral chickens, and CRB.
Control the presence of feral chickens
- If Elected: I would advocate for the passage of HB2561, which classifies feral chickens on public lands as controllable pests, and strictly prohibits intentionally feeding or abandoning chickens.

Support the development of affordable housing on state and city owned land
- Background: One of the largest costs for development projects is the cost of land. The State and City own multiple parcels of underutilized land that could help lower these costs
- If Elected: I would support the 99-Year Leasehold Program, which establishes low-cost leasehold residential condominiums on public lands, generally near public transit hubs, to help buyers bypass the high cost of purchasing land.

Small Business

Protecting our neighborhoods from illegal overdevelopment in areas zoned for lower density
- If Elected: I will advocate for real penalties for the unpermitted construction of monster homes, including exploring criminal penalties for repeat offenders.