Soft
economic projections raise caution, but all core programs retain funding
The House Finance Committee today passed out a proposed budget that
reflects slower economic growth in Hawaii based on General Excise Tax
collections and projections by the State Council on Revenues. The Council on
Revenues met in January and reduced its fiscal year 2017 projection from 5.5
percent to 3.0 percent. In order to be cautious with taxpayer money, about $500
million has been reduced from the Governor’s biennium budget request, according
to Representative Sylvia Luke (Makiki, Punchbowl, Nuuanu, Dowsett Highlands,
Pacific Heights, Pauoa), House Finance Chair.
“All
core programs are retaining their funding, but with the predicted slower
economy, it is better to make adjustments to requests for increased spending,
than to send an inflated budget over to the Senate where it
would then need to be cut,” said Luke.
Luke
said in 2008 and 2009 with rising unemployment and slow real estate sales, it
was clear that massive budget cuts were needed to be fiscally responsible;
however, economic factors, as projected by the Council on Revenues, indicate less
dynamic growth. When the council convenes
again on Monday, March 13, changes in their projections will provide the Legislature
an opportunity to revisit the budget for the upcoming fiscal biennium, Luke
added.
HB100 HD1, which appropriates funds for operating and capital improvement
costs of the Executive Branch for the current biennium, fiscal years FY2017-2018
and FY2018-2019, is scheduled for a vote next week by the full House.
For FY2017-2018,
the bill offers $7.1 billion in general funds and $13.9 billion in all means of
financing. For FY2018-2019, it
appropriates $7.3 billion in general funds and $14.1 billion in all financing
means.
The
full House is scheduled to vote on the budget bill next week.
Funding highlights include:
Department of the
Attorney General
·
$110,000 to maintain the Criminal Justice
Information System
·
$101,000 to Maintain the Upgraded Automated
Fingerprint Identification System
·
$95,000 for the Hawaii Integrated Justice
Information Sharing Program
Department of
Business, Economic Development, and Tourism
·
$3,000,000 for an Excelerator program in the
High Tech Development Corporation
·
$80,000 to promote Hawaii as a destination for
films
Department of Budget
and Finance
·
$15,001,114 to centralize vacation payout for
general funded employees statewide
·
$3,695,200 for upgrades for the Employees’
Retirement System
Department of Defense
·
$360,000 for 10-year motor vehicle replacement
plan
·
$80,000 for a Hawaii State Fusion Center
director
Department of
Education
·
$5,600,000 to expand the Hawaii Keiki Healthy
and Ready to Learn Program
·
$2,027,645 to support the Office of Hawaiian
Education
·
$1,040,593 and 20 positions to expand pre-K
programs in DOE preschools
·
$844,776 and 18 positions to support children
struggling with homelessness in the DOE
·
$500,000 to address R&M backlogs in state
libraries
·
40 preschool teachers and 20 educational
assistants to support special education students in DOE preschools
Department of Human
Services
·
$3,000,000 for Rapid Re-Housing program to keep
people out of homelessness
·
$3,000,000 for Housing First Program to keep
chronically homeless individuals in housing
·
$1,500,000 for homeless outreach
·
$300,000 for homeless shelter maintenance and
repair
·
$2,100,000 for low income family and elderly
housing facilities
·
$400,000 for services for child victims of sex
trafficking
Department of Human
Resources Development
·
$3,274,000 for workers’ compensation claims
·
$350,000 for pilot program to improve
effectiveness of employees
·
$101,080 for professional development courses for
state employees
Department of Health
·
$40,710,951 for various federal grants to
support the Disease Outbreak Control Program
§
$24,000,000 for support to local hospitals responding
to emergency outbreaks
§
$13,200,000 for immunizations and vaccines for
children
§
$3,510,951 for other grants
·
$4,314,600 for a voluntary family planning
program grant
·
$4,145,695 for Kupuna Care
·
$3,000,000 as a match for the maternal, infant,
and early childhood home visiting grant
·
$1,700,000 for Aging and Disability Resource
Centers (ADRC)
·
$1,912,836 to rebase home and community care
service subsidies
·
$422,540 for vector control
·
$300,000 to increase the inventory of clean and
sober housing
·
$157,168 and 1 program specialist position for
the Long Term Care Ombudsman
·
$150,000 for a Statewide Telehealth Pilot
project
·
$102,000 for 2 epidemiological specialists to
help with surveillance of disease outbreak
Department of Labor
·
$515,386 and 1 position for Disability
Compensation Division modernization
·
$205,00 for Community Services Block Grant
·
$41,197 for Commodity Supplemental Food Program
Federal Grant
Department of Land
and Natural Resources
·
$4,000,000 for Hawaii Invasive Species Council operations
·
$3,405,749 for Native Resources and Fire
Protection operations
·
$2,832,996 for Forest Reserve Management and
Development operations
·
$500,000 for Bureau of Conveyances to modernize accessibility
to records
·
$500,000 to implement an Integrated Information
Management System
·
$250,000 for the Ala Wai Watershed Initiative
Department of
Transportation
·
$124,400,000 for 10-year replacement plans for
motor vehicles, equipment, and ongoing base funding for special maintenance
projects
§
$35,500,000 for airports
§
$17,600,000 for harbors
§
$71,300,000 for highways
·
$4,000,000 for highway cleanup services in
Department of Transportation
·
$3,000,000 in state matching funds for Airport
Rescue and Firefighting vehicles statewide
University of Hawaii
System
·
$600,000 and 6 psychologist positions to address
mental health concerns of students enrolled in the University of Hawaii System
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