Senate proposes FY09 state budget
Friday, April 11th, 2008
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.
Big Island legislators Sen. Russell Kokubun and Sen. Lorraine Inouye will host “Legislators Listen” community meetings this Saturday and March 15. The events are also sponsored by seven Big Island representatives from the state House and will meet meet at various locations across the island. The legislators welcome community input.
Senator Lorraine R. Inouye, Chair of the Senate Committee on Transportation and Government Operations, and Senator Will Espero, Committee Vice-Chair, announced plans to introduce legislation next session to ban all passengers from riding in pick-up truck beds. The announcement comes in light of a tragic accident in Kunia on April 24th that resulted in the death of four women who were riding in the bed of a pick-up truck.
Senator Lorraine R. Inouye, Chair of the Senate Committee on Transportation and Government Operations, said she plans to introduce legislation to prevent questionable procurement practices by public agencies. The State Administration recently partnered with a nonprofit agency to manage private sponsorships for the Governor’s recent trade mission to China and Korea which drew criticism from legislators and the public.
