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Capitol View
ACROSS the nation this is the month to sum up. Stateline.org compares
state progressOne of the best check-ups was performed by Stateline.org, produced by the Pew Center on the States. It scrutinized the product of the nation's legislatures and governors for 1999-2000.
Because new ideas are not one of Hawaii's major products, it is always good to check out the other 49 states. Here are some of the findings from Stateline.org's report.
First, the economic boom that swept the country, providing growth rates as high as 9 percent in some states, is on the wane, but it left a legacy of huge construction projects.
In New Jersey, for instance, GOP Gov. Christine Todd Whitman signed legislation for a $12 billion, 10-year school construction budget. That was after the state supreme court ordered the state to repair dilapidated schools.
Although Hawaii legislators seem to devote a portion of every day to whining about having to obey the federal court in the Felix consent decree, Hawaii is one of only four states that have not been sued for unequal school funding.
Hawaii is not in the Big Idea league, however, as California devoted a special session of the legislature to education. The landmark legislation that resulted produced $2.9 billion in block grants to schools, $947 million to recruit and retain good teachers. Another $218 million went to tax credits of between $250 to $1,500 for veteran teachers.
And California also passed a scholarship program that guarantees every student in the state with good grades a chance to attend college.
In Hawaii, Gov. Ben Cayetano told Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono to spearhead a pre-kindergarten program using excess federal welfare money. The idea has been sweeping the country, as dozens of states, including Maine and Illinois, are grabbing the money left from declining welfare rolls for programs ranging from child care and affordable housing to personal counseling for the poor.
The strong national economy meant higher minimum wages for several states. Most employers in Connecticut must pay workers $6.75 an hour, with the wage tied to the rate of inflation. Hawaii is considering raising its $5.25 minimum this year.
Under the category of "WHOOPS," several states last year found their tax estimates way off. Ohio, for instance, was $80 million short. But because Ohio has a $1 billion rainy-day fund, no one was particularly worried.
North Carolina lost money and was mulling over a raid on the national tobacco settlement fund to balance the state budget. In South Carolina, the budget dropped $61 million. But it still had a $206 million surplus.
IN Illinois, after putting $1.5 billion in the bank and doling out millions in tax cuts, including a rollback of the state gas tax, Gov. George Ryan discovered he was going broke.
So he was forced to cut back Medicaid payments to hospitals and pharmacies and restore the tax on gasoline.
Hawaii shows up on the Stateline.org list as the state with the biggest tax cut in the country, with a total tax reduction of 8.4 percent.
In comparison, Minnesota may have a thousand lakes, but it is also looking at a $3 billion surplus, tax cuts of 8.3 percent and $924 in tax rebates.
In Wyoming, the tax officials raised the state sales tax and are now sitting on a $409 million surplus.
Finally, the report concludes that demands for education and increased costs for Medicaid are going to drive the budgets of the states for much of the next decade, a not-so-surprising finding that puts Hawaii in the same fiscal basket as the rest of the nation.
Richard Borreca reports on Hawaii's politics every Wednesday.
He can be reached by e-mail at rborreca@starbulletin.com