Governor's rejection of the state budget reduces funding for public school maintenance
In a significant move, Governor Josh Green recently signed the new biennium state budget, which covers spending through June 30, 2027, and is worth approximately $40 billion. However, the signing was not without some adjustments, as the governor used his line-item veto power to make cuts totaling $110 million from the budget.
The most notable cut was to the state Department of Education, where $90 million was struck from "school support." This reduction, less than 0.5% of the total budget, comes as the Department of Education's annual budget is approximately $2.1 billion. Despite the cut, the department's operating budget includes $30 million more this year than it did last year. The Department of Education's facilities team has identified shovel-ready projects based on the Legislature's $75 million appropriation for this fiscal year, and the department will revisit and re-prioritize its list of projects to match the revised funding level.
The Department of Education is left with $60 million in extra funding for preventative maintenance over the next two fiscal years. In addition, the governor's office stated that capital improvement funding could be used to boost school maintenance spending.
Other departments also faced cuts. The state Department of Law Enforcement's general administration funding for the current fiscal year had a $3 million cut, and the Office of the Governor has had a $150,000 appropriation cut. The state Department of Health's staff overtime at the Hawaii State Hospital for the current fiscal year has had a $10 million appropriation cut.
The state High Technology Development Corp.'s operating budget for the current fiscal year has had a $2 million cut. In comparison, the overall $110 million cut is small compared to the previous biennium budget veto, where Governor Green vetoed nearly $1.1 billion in budget appropriations for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years.
In his line-item budget veto message, Governor Green objected to a list of nine items totaling $110 million due to a lower projection for state tax revenue and a need to maintain flexibility for possible federal funding cutbacks. Financial considerations appear to have played a significant role in his decision-making process.
In 2021, then-Gov. David Ige cut $316 million from the biennium budget but cut nothing from the biennium budget bill in 2019. This suggests that the current fiscal environment has necessitated a more stringent approach to budgeting.
Detailed information about the reasons behind the $110 million reduction and the specific line-items vetoed is not available at this time. For more information, it would be necessary to consult more detailed sources or official announcements from Governor Green's office.
The Governor's $110 million budget cuts, notably a $90 million reduction in education's school support, emphasizes a financial focus on fiscal responsibility, particularly in the Department of Education. Moreover, the Department of Health experienced a $10 million cut in staff overtime at the Hawaii State Hospital, indicating potential implications for health services.
