GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE TO THE 28TH STATE LEGISLATURE OF HAWAII MEETING IN THE REGULAR SESSION OF 2015
In compliance with Article VII, Section 8, of the Hawaii Constitution, I hereby submit to the State Legislature the Executive Budget for Fiscal Biennium (FB) 2015-17 and the Program and Financial Plan for the period 2015-21.
OVERVIEW
One of the most important responsibilities that I have, as Governor of the State of Hawaii, is to deliver a balanced budget to the Legislature and to the people of our State. To that, I am fully committed.
We will not propose new programs when we cannot afford to pay for them - we will live within our means, just like Hawaii's families. We will spend public funds wisely to avoid raising taxes.
State government should be run like a business, striving to increase efficiency and reduce waste and costs.
Accountability and transparency will be the core principles upon which we provide services to our customers, the people of Hawaii.
As government, we must focus our energies to nurture a sustainable economy - a healthy economy to support Hawaii's families and allow them to thrive. There is hard work to be done but we expect no less of ourselves than the public expects of us.
A STARTING POINT
Due to the short time between the start of my Administration and the statutory deadline to submit the Executive Budget to the Legislature, the Executive Budget was primarily compiled by the previous Administration. We have briefly reviewed the budget but, although a few changes have been made, these requests have not been thoroughly vetted by my Administration.
The Executive Budget was developed as a baseline budget by the previous Administration to ensure the continuation of State services at their current level and to provide this Administration with the flexibility to make budget adjustments that are in line with our policy and budget priorities. As such, we consider this Executive Budget to be a starting point from which my Administration can build.
PDF: Budget in Brief
LINK: 2015-17 Budget Webpage
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