Senate proposes FY09 state budget
Sens. Inouye, Hooser, Tsutsui and Baker listened to testimony during a Ways and Means Committee hearing last month.
The Senate has released its version of the state budget for fiscal year 2009. The proposal, contained in House Bill 2500, passed a vote on the Senate floor 22-2 Tuesday morning.
The Ways and Means committee handles all of the financial measures that pass through the Senate and has been working for months to prepare the 353-page proposal. According to committee chair Rosalyn Baker, the Senate’s version of the budget takes a prudent approach and reduces the general fund appropriations requested by Gov. Linda Lingle in December by $32.4 million.
Hawai`i’s economy has suffered from the effects of inflation and high oil prices over the past year, reflected most recently by the closures of ATA and Aloha Airlines.
Baker noted in a floor speech Tuesday that the state also has nearly half-a-billion dollars less in general fund revenues this year than it had last year.
“This budget does not create false impressions and should not give rise to false expectations,” Baker said, adding that her committee had crafted a version that sustains investments in education, transportation and health infrastructure, which she said are vitally important to regaining fiscal growth.
Senators and represenatives will meet over the next few weeks in a conference committee to finalize a budget proposal that they will submit back to the governor before the end of session on May 1.