Civil Beat has asked candidates for the Hawaiʻi elections to answer a survey about where they stand on various issues and what their priorities will be if elected.

The following comes from Amanda Ybanez, Republican candidate for state House District 30 that includes Kalihi, Kalihi Kai and Keʻehi Lagoon.

She is running against Republican candidate Angela Melody Young in the Aug. 8 primary election.

Go to Civil Beat’s 2026 Elections Guide for general information, and check out the other candidates on Civil Beatʻs 2026 Hawaiʻi Primary Ballot.

Why are you best suited for the job? And why do you want the job?

I am volunteering my time in this community for free with ongoing outreach for and with the people of Hawaiʻi for over a decade. Now is the time to step out of the shadows of influence and institute the true intentions of the people – someone who is not a politician but as a community leader; fighting for the people; the working class, the underserved, the ignored, the overlooked / underlooked and those who suffer silently – that I would be the voice that would bring their intentions to light.

What is the biggest issue facing your district, and what is the first thing you would do to address it in the first six months after being elected?

The rising cost of living continues to explode out of control in my district. The socio-economic environment is not business friendly. To address the issue, local production of resources such as farming, agriculture, cattle must be mentioned and implemented. In the meantime, we have to look at a variety of resources in regards to importing goods. That is the first action item to address this issue during my first six months of office.

Here’s one question from your constituents: Do you support maintaining a monopoly for interisland shipping?

No, it creates exponential price increases and no viable economic options. Limited resources will drive up costs so you will need to have a variety of economic options for supply such as supporting local farmers and producers to help drive down the costs of goods. In addition, those with Native Hawaiian blood will have especially little to low lease hold in perpetuity for agriculture / natural resources that are needed and the funds needed to produce goods for the people of Hawaiʻi.

What do you think were the most important bills to come out of the 2026 Legislature? What failed that should have passed? What passed that you wish had failed?

Senate Bill 2151 is the most important bill to come out of the 2026 Legislature. With the recent natural disasters, we must first coordinate the emergency powers that we currently have. The bills that should have been passed are: House Bill 322 – which has automatic voter registration and Senate Bill 1032 – which bans companies with a certain percentage of foreign ownership from directly contributing to candidates. In addition to HB 322, I would like to have seen a legitimate voter identification requirement included.

The 2026 session was also overshadowed by an issue of public trust: $35,000 in the brown paper bag given to an “influential” state lawmaker. What do you think the Legislature needs to do going forward to rebuild public confidence in state government?

The Legislature needs to have term limits, more public input about term limits, public transparency and have at least two seats of the Ethics Commission voted in by the people of Hawaiʻi. Term limits for the Charter Amendments for the commission must be updated and have public input required every two to three years. Town hall meetings must be implemented across Hawaiʻi at a reasonable time where the workforce can be present such as after 4:30 p.m. Also, we need to have more public input online.

In recent years, Hawai’i has experienced a series of damaging and dangerous weather events that have exposed weaknesses in our planning, preparation and response. What could you as a lawmaker do to help your district be better prepared?

I am part of an emergency response team and we have a hub resource center called The Pantry with the program of CERENE – a Kapiolani Community College program that has an outreach for emergency response for the community. There are others that are also involved in Kalihi. As a lawmaker, I will advocate for funding and expansion for this program and have other community programs such as CERENE.

What would you do in office to address the here and now of climate change? And how would you address the costs to taxpayers, property owners and businesses to adapt?

We need to have ongoing community education and outreach on how to recycle our items, be smarter in our consumption and support local farmers and producers so that we will not have to rely on mainland shipping that create more ʻōpala. We also need to have more tax relief for Hawai‘i residents that purchased the solar program and have tax credits into ALL programs if they wish to invest in wind, solar, geothermal energy and have the residents have a piece of the savings.

Over 3,000 bills are introduced every session and there is always frantic horsetrading in the final days of session. Do you think there should be a limit on the number of bills introduced to enable more meaningful debate?

Absolutely. Over 3,000 bills is an absolute waste of time and money. There are a lot of bills that overlap each other — which means they are similar in terms of the intentions of the bills. Furthermore, the Legislature needs to take care of this three months prior to session to make sure the bills are introduced for discussion and votes are viable – this should not be happening during the session.

Hawaiʻi lawmakers are often in the dark about how much a piece of legislation will cost because the Aloha State is the only one in the nation that doesn’t require a fiscal analysis for bills. Should lawmakers be forced to put a realistic price tag on the legislation they introduce?

Yes. Absolutely. ALL bills must have a fiscal analysis before being introduced to the legislative floor. If it gets forwarded to the financial committee once the Legislature votes to pass it, this will give the Senate a clearer view of the possible impact of the bill. They will then have more knowledge on the possible economic impact on the measures. Which in returrn will give transparency to the people of Hawaiʻi if a particular bill is economically viable.

There are no term limits for state legislators in Hawaiʻi, so incumbents tend to win. Would you seek to change that? Why or why not?

Term limits need to be discussed. Should it happen? Yes, absolutely. Being a Senate or a House rep is not a career. It is a passion for the people in the communities of Hawaiʻi. It keeps them honest which is currently lacking in our current government at the moment. This will help secure and win back public trust through transparency and not the politicians being chained to private interests but to continue to work for the people.

What would you do to help improve the state’s public school system?

If the students are failing in ANY district, the superintendent and those directly below him shall not have any increase of salary. Their paychecks will be frozen. The money must go back to all educational and outreach programs for students who have a difficult time learning. We used to send social workers back in the ’80s into the homes of these students to assist them and their families. We do not truly know what is going on with the child outside of school.

Hawaiʻi is heavily reliant on tourism. What would you propose to diversify Hawaiʻi’s economy?

As I stated in the previous questions. Local farmers, local agriculture, supporting local businesses, implementing our own supply and goods chain across the islands shall help to diversify our economic portfolio — these will help center Hawaiʻi as the economic hub of the Pacific. State grants need to be allocated to those who want to open up businesses in Hawaiʻi.

An estimated 60% of Hawaii residents are struggling to get by. It’s a problem that reaches far beyond low-income folks and into the middle class, which is disappearing. What would you do to help?

This question has already been answered in most of the questions prior.