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On Tuesday, April 17, 20112, the Senate and House opened conference on the Hawaii State Supplemental Budget with comments from Senate Committee on Ways and Means Committee Chair David Y. Ige.
Earlier this month the Senate Committee on Ways and Means unanimously voted to pass the Senate's version of the $11 billion supplemental budget for the State of Hawaii, House Bill (HB) 2012. Following three years of budget cuts totaling more than a billion dollars each year, this year's budget provided the Senate with a refreshing opportunity to reinforce the safety net where needed, reinstitute core services that have been decimated over the past three years, and make strategic investments in key areas that can help us grow the economy and sustain a more prosperous future for Hawaii.
Senator David Y. Ige, chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, explained the committee's decision to hold House Bill 1457, known as Hawaii's version of the federal "Dream Act." The measure, which passed out of the Senate Committee on Education on March 19, 2012, would allow Hawaii high school graduates without lawful immigration status to receive state funded financial aid and resident tuition at the University of Hawaii.
Senator Ige stated, "It really has been a difficult issue for me and the committee to deal with...On the one hand, we do believe that all of our students should have access to higher education. And for those undocumented immigrants, who have lived in Hawaii and attended our high schools, that all of them should have access to our higher education system at the residential rate. These are taxpaying citizens who contribute considerably to our communities."
Senator Ige further explained, "Twelve years ago, I led the charge to provide more flexibility to the University and we eliminated all mandated tuition waivers and gave full authority of tuition to the Board of Regents.... We've decided to hold this measure and respectfully request that the Regents take up this issue because I truly believe that this is an issue that the Regents should decide. If in fact we don't see any action we can take it up as a policy matter."
On March 22, 2012, the Department of Taxation (DOTAX) and the Chief Information Officer updated the Senate Committee on Ways & Means on the improvements made to DOTAX under the new administration. For several years, the State Legislature has posed concerns over the collection and processing of checks from taxpayers.
Two notable improvements made by the department included improving the efficiency of processing checks and the tracking of delinquent taxpayers.
On January 24th, representatives from the Department of Budget and Finance updated members of the Ways and Means on the State's general obligation bond. Senators were also briefed on the status and updates on the department's structure and financial progress over the past year. Click here to access a presentation detailing some of the talking points.
January 4th:
Department of Budget and Finance
Judiciary
Department of Taxation
January 5th:
Office of the Governor
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
January 6th:
Office of Hawaiian Affairs
Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
Department of Accounting and General Services
Chief Information Officer, Office of Information Management and Technology
January 9th:
Council on Revenues
Economists - Carl Bonham, UHERO; Eugene Tian, DBEDT; Paul Brewbaker, TZ Economics
State Budget and Financial Plan
Department of Transportation
Department of Public Safety