House cuts funding for TMT enforcement from state budget—Ige Wanted $65M to Not Enforce Law on Mauna Kea
SA: … House lawmakers approved a rough draft of the new state operating budget Tuesday that cut more than $65 million in funding that Gov. David Ige requested for law enforcement operations to cope with disturbances such as the ongoing protests over the Thirty Meter Telescope, according to House Finance Committee Chairwoman Sylvia Luke.
When Ige presented his budget proposal to reporters in December, he declined to say how much money he had set aside for dealing with the ongoing TMT impasse but acknowledged he tucked away money in the budgets of various departments to cope with protests.
It turns out the amounts he set aside to deal with protests were huge….
For this year and next year, the administration budgeted $8.7 million for the Attorney General’s Office, nearly $36 million for the state Department of Defense, $8.7 million for the Department of Land and Natural Resources, $8.4 million for the Department of Public Safety and $18.4 million for the Department of Transportation, according to data provided by Luke.
Ige’s chief of staff, Linda Chu Takayama, said in a written statement that the money Ige requested was “a contingency amount for any upcoming projects that may attract community activism, including but not limited to Mauna Kea.”
The Ige administration has reported spending about $15 million already on law enforcement operations to cope with the anti-TMT protests on Mauna Kea, and Luke said lawmakers are still uncertain exactly which programs had to give up portions of their budgets to cover that tab.
The draft budget approved Tuesday by the House therefore includes $15 million for the state Department of Defense that can be distributed to state departments this year to ensure they all have enough money to operate, but the budget doesn’t include anywhere near the entire amount Ige wanted.
“From what we know right now, we cannot commit that type of public funds for future TMT enforcement, but we’re hopeful that there is a path forward that the governor and the mayor and the interested parties can at least let the Legislature know what they want to do in the future,” said Luke (D, Punchbowl-Pauoa-Nuuanu).
Luke said that does not mean lawmakers are giving up on TMT…
The draft budget approved Tuesday by the House totals more than $15.57 billion for this year and $15.67 billion for next year, but those sums do not include separate spending measures lawmakers are advancing separately to cope with housing, homelessness, to provide more money for college scholarships and other issues.
The draft budget does include more than $7.7 million for health and safety repairs to Aloha Stadium, and another $980,000 to fund a new complex litigation, fraud and compliance unit. Attorney General Clare Connors has said the new unit will investigate and prosecute government corruption, program theft, fraud, campaign spending fraud, bribery “and other matters that could erode the public’s confidence in government.”…
read … House cuts funding for TMT enforcement from state budget
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HOUSE APPROVES STATE BUDGET, MOVES BILL TO SENATE
Bill includes portions of the budget that covers basic government operations
News Release from House Democratic Caucus, February 19, 2020
Honolulu, Hawaiʻi – The House of Representatives today passed HB 2200 HD1, the state operating budget for fiscal biennium 2019-2021.
This measure, also known as the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2020, adjusts amounts appropriated or authorized for Executive Branch agencies and programs in the General Appropriations Act of 2019.
The budget is several million dollars less then Governor David Ige's request because several items, including homelessness, affordable housing and some education issues, will be funded through separate bills.
HB2200 HD1 appropriates:
General Fund
FY2020: 7.962 Billion
FY2021: 8.133 Billion
All MOF
FY2020: 15.564 Billion
FY2021: 15.656 Billion
Department of Agriculture
· $1,113,400 increase for the Pesticides Division to establish a pesticide disposal program
· $2,386,316 for Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle and other pest programs
Department of Accounting and General Services
· $7,764,000 for health and safety repairs to Aloha Stadium
Department of the Attorney General
$980,000 and (10) positions to establish the complex litigation, fraud and compliance unit
$99,000 for (1) public information officer
Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism
· $200,000 from the Energy Security Special Fund for the Greenhouse Gas Sequestration Taskforce
Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs
· $2,000,000 for renovations of the King Kalakaua Building
· $3,500,000 to increase efficiency in the processing of filings for Business Regulation and Securities Regulation
· $250,000 for the Public Utilities Commission to gain additional expertise on matters relating to major energy dockets
· $131,860 for (1) staff attorney position to address increasing consumer fraud and protection cases
Department of Defense
· (6) positions and funds to process FEMA disaster reimbursements
· $125,000 to pave parking lot of Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery
Department of Education
· $750,000 for Title IX Phase II training
· (2) positions for the Teacher Mentor Program for entry-level special education teachers
· $180,000 for (2) JROTC instructors at Moanalua and Waipahu High Schools
Department of Education - Libraries
· $1,000,000 for security services
· $500,000 for repairs and maintenance
· $250,000 for library books and materials
Office of the Governor
· $75,000 in preparation for Washington Place's 175th Anniversary in 2022
Department of Human Services
· $155,000 for (1) IT Enterprise Officer to oversee all of Human Services IT modernization initiatives
· $950,000 for the Business Process Redesign of the Child Protective Service's system
· $76,951 for (1) program specialist position with additional expenses, for the Commission on the Status of Women
Department of Health
· $188,559 to upgrade the x-ray system at the Lanakila Health Center
· $1,671,152 for (3) positions and operating costs to allow the state family planning programs flexibility to fully serve Hawaii's families
· $2,500,000 for the Developmental Disabilities Medicaid Waiver Administrative Claiming Special Fund
· $150,466 to create a Newborn Screening State Evaluation Program Project
· $5,000,000 for the Deposit Beverage Container Special Fund to assist in timely payment of contracts
· $30,240 for (1) Office Assistant for support at the Hawaii island district health office
· $18,000,000 for Maui Health Systems
Department of Labor and Industrial Relations
· $1,000,000 for unemployment insurance modernization
· $238,700 from the Labor Law Enforcement Special Fund to collect penalties and fees assessed
Department of Land and Natural Resources
· $725,000 for motor vehicles and equipment at State Parks statewide
· $100,000 for the final phase of the Historic Preservation digitization project
· $1,600,000 for Rapid Ohia Death surveys and control
· $2,100,000 for lifeguard services contracts at State Parks statewide
Department of Public Safety
· (15) Adult Corrections Officer positions for Maui Community Correctional Center
· (4) additional Human Resources staff to speed up the processing and hiring of Adult Corrections Officers and State Sheriffs
· (9) intake positions to implement Act 179, SLH 2019 which requires the department to produce a risk assessment and bail report in three days
· $800,000 for contracted medical and mental health services
· (10.5) Registered Nurse positions for 24hr nursing coverage at community correctional facilities on Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai islands
· $205,000 for communications equipment for the Airport Sheriff's Division
Department of Taxation
$250,000 for the operations of the Tax Review Commission
$386,056 for (11) positions for the Special Enforcement Section on the neighbor islands
Department of Transportation
$1,207,100 for traffic signal maintenance on Hawaii Island
$985,000 for Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting equipment at Lihue Airport
$127,658 for (2) harbor traffic controller I at Honolulu Harbor
$74,436 for (1) marine cargo specialist I at Kahului Harbor
University of Hawaii
· $1,400,000 and (8) positions to establish a medical education and residency support program on Maui
· $1,500,000 for mental health services systemwide
· $1,000,000 for security services at community colleges
· $907,400 and (5) positions for operations and maintenance of community college facilities
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PBN: Hawaii House of Reps. approves state budget request with major cuts