Supporters tell committee GPI would give fuller picture of Hawaii’s economy; DBEDT flags resource limits

Supporters of HCR191/HR181 told the House Committee on Economic Development on March 27 that a General Progress Indicator would provide a fuller measure of Hawai‘i’s wellbeing than GDP alone.

"The GPI, we think, would provide a more accurate picture of things like cost of living, environmental quality, and the value of unpaid caregiving," said Nicole Wu, who identified herself as representing HKN Speaks and said the group advocates for families with children.

A government witness representing DBEDT indicated the department already collects many of the underlying data annually and said it is open to enhancing the scope of analysis if resources are available. "We are open to that," the DBEDT representative (identified in testimony as Joe, speaking for the acting administrator) told the committee, while noting some years might be constrained by available staff and funding.

Committee members pressed whether the resolution’s scope could be scaled to fit budget realities. The DBEDT witness said the department has produced related work in the past and that the data are publicly accessible on DBEDT’s website; the witness added that expanding the GPI would be an enhancement rather than new baseline data collection.

Why it matters: Advocates say a GPI would give legislators a more direct measure of how policy affects everyday living conditions — from housing costs to environmental quality — rather than relying solely on GDP growth, which can mask distributional or environmental harms.

The committee voted to recommend HCR191 and HR181 be passed as is; the chair called for a vote and members present voted to adopt the resolutions (the record shows Representative Tam excused for the remainder of the hearing). The measure will be reflected in the committee report and proceed according to House rules.

What remains: DBEDT signaled willingness to perform expanded analysis but said doing so consistently will depend on available resources; the committee requested that any statutory or budget implications be memorialized in the committee report.