James “Duke” Aiona is running for governor. His campaign has issued this statement

Our number one resource is our people. That is why I am running for Governor to fix our public school system because education is the foundation of the modern economy. And I will cut taxes and regulations on working families and small businesses to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation that will create jobs.

Last week, I went to Hawaii Island and Kauai to collaborate with county officials on a bold proposal to lower energy bills for our homeowners and small businesses while reducing our reliance on foreign fossil fuel and creating green jobs.

The Hawaii Clean Energy Investment bond program is an innovative approach to defray the up-front costs for homeowners and small businesses to become more energy efficient.

If passed in the State Legislature, the program would allow the proceeds of state-issued bonds to be loaned through professional energy services companies to island homeowners and small businesses for the installation of renewable energy and energy-efficient systems.

The property owners would then repay the loans over a period of years via an annual or semi-annual assessment on their real property tax bill. By removing a major barrier to installing clean energy systems and energy efficiency upgrades, the program would spur job creation and economic activity as well as move our state closer to the goal of 70 percent clean energy by 2030.

Read more about the bill (HB2531) here and let legislators know that you support this collaborative initiative.

Mahalo,

Duke Aiona