Senate budget
would cut 1,200
vacant jobs

The Ways and Means Committee
backs a plan to cover
education costs

By Mike Yuen
Star-Bulletin

As many as 1,200 vacant positions would be eliminated, including about 250 nonteaching jobs at the University of Hawaii, under a budget for the coming fiscal biennium approved by the state Senate Ways and Means Committee last night.

But the Senate's budget for the first year of the biennium would still be about $100 million more than the current year's. That's to cover the cost of educational and health services for emotionally disturbed students that have been mandated by the federal courts, said Senate Ways and Means Co-Chairmen Carol Fukunaga (D, Makiki) and Andrew Levin (D, Volcano).

And to ensure that the state can better track the cost of complying with the requirements of the Felix consent decree, all Felix expenses - which primarily have been in the Education and Health departments - would be centralized in the Governor's Office budget, they said.

The Senate's money panel crafted a budget calling for spending nearly $3.09 billion in general funds in the fiscal year that begins July 1. In the following fiscal year, the budget dips to nearly $3.07 billion.

Both years, proposed budgets are still higher than the current year's general fund budget, which is just under $3 billion.

The Senate, however, is proposing to spend less than the House, which is allocating $123 million more than this year for the Department of Education.

Under the Senate proposal, the state would spend 3.3 percent more in general funds in the coming fiscal year, when compared with the current fiscal year. The House is advocating a 4.3 percent increase.

Fukunaga said the Senate's budget will fully fund education at the instructional level, and also cover workload increases.

The Senate's financial plan also covers retroactive pay raises for unionized government workers, she said.

"One of the consequences of taking out the vacancies is that there will need to be some restructuring to fill in areas that are critically needed and perhaps let go of areas that are not so critical," Fukunaga said.

Levin said that the Senate's budget cuts will help cover the cost of a Senate tax relief package meant to spur economic development. The package of initiatives would curtail "pyramiding," the general excise tax upon a tax that small businesses have long complained, provide tax breaks for high-technology businesses and for hotel improvements, and would exempt the counties from the 4 percent excise tax.

The budget must still be passed by the Senate. Then House and Senate conferees will fight over differences in their budget proposals before agreeing on a budget bill.

Sen. Randy Iwase (D, Mililani) warned Fukunaga and Levin that at least 15 of the positions they were eliminating were federally funded - jobs in which the state doesn't pay a cent.

Fukunaga replied that the number of vacant positions were varied at the times different staffers checked with the state's personnel office. But positions that shouldn't be eliminated will be reinstated, she said.

Levin added: "This (budget) is a work in progress." It will be refined during House-Senate negotiations, he said.

Levin gently pressed members of the money panel to vote on the Senate's proposed budget last night, although two members, Sens. Jonathan Chun (D, Lihue) and Marshall Ige (D, Kaneohe) wanted a delay of at least 12 hours for further study.

But Levin prevailed, noting that at least 48 hours was needed to print the Senate budget bill and still have some leeway in case of any unexpected problems.

Legislature Directory
Hawaii Revised Statutes
Legislature Bills