The problem
Hawaiʻi applied a second income test to food assistance applicants that federal rules didn’t require. Families who qualified on gross income could still be turned away after the state subtracted its way to a different number. The result was a cliff: earn a little more, lose help with groceries entirely.
A 2023 bill I drafted to fix the cliff didn’t make it out. Neither did a 2024 attempt. The rule stayed.
What I did
I co-authored the analysis with an economist at UHERO, the University of Hawaiʻi’s economic research organization. I modeled what the test cost households at different income levels, what it cost the state in unclaimed federal dollars, and what would change if the state simply stopped applying it. Then I took the findings to the Governor’s office before publication.
The strategy
Change the route, not the goal
The test was a state rule, not a law. A bill had already failed, so the same fix could be made administratively, by the agency, without another session.
Make the money the argument
These are federal benefits. Applying the test kept an estimated $40–45 million a year in federal food aid from reaching Hawaiʻi households — money the state gave up for nothing.
Brief the decision-maker first
The Governor’s office had the analysis before it was public, so the announcement came with the research rather than in response to it.
Be honest about the size of the win
About 50,000 households became eligible; we projected 13,000–14,000 would actually enroll. We published both numbers. Overstating it would have cost us the credibility we needed next session.
Follow through to the part nobody covers
Eligibility means nothing if applications sit unprocessed, so the next two sessions went to the plumbing — and I drafted those bills myself.
The outcome
The state dropped the test, effective February 2025.
- About 50,000 more households qualify each month.
- A projected 13,000–14,000 households enroll, worth $40–45 million a year in federal food aid.
- No state appropriation was required.
Then the follow-through, where I testified at every hearing:
- Act 264 (2025) put $1.1 million into pay for the staff who process applications.
- Act 193 (2026) lengthened certification periods so households and older adults reapply less often.
- Act 21 (2026) repaid the state $14 million for emergency food aid during the federal shutdown.