Funding for Hawaii Aerospace program alive in Legislative Budget

House and Senate lawmakers have kept alive the Hawaii Aerospace program in the state budget, contrary to media reports today.

The funding for the one-person unit within the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism was preserved, not cut, by the Legislature and is located in a renamed budget program ID, BED120 – Energy, Environment and Aerospace (EEA). This was confirmed today by House Finance Chair, Rep. Marcus Oshiro, who added that in the Hawaiian language, ‘e’ea means “quick, ready, expert.”