Hawaii Taxpayers Owe $8.2 Million for Claims Against the State
In 2006, eight inmates incarcerated at the Hawaii Community Correctional Center on the Big Island complained they were overcrowded and were being denied access to toilets and adequate bathing facilities.
They sued the state and the facility’s wardens, and eventually won a $277,750 settlement. That bill is overdue, and the Abercrombie administration wants to pay it. The settlement is part of a package of claims that is expected to be considered at a before the House Judiciary Committee.
Legal challenges against the state and state employees have resulted in an $8.3 million tab to settle claims and judgements over the past year.
That includes $5.8 million in overdue charges from the 2011 budget year, according to , which seeks emergency funding “to avoid further legal action and expense.” A second seeks $2.4 million for the 2011-2012 budget year.
The funding requests were included as part of the of bills.
Of the $8.2 million total, $5.9 million would come from the state’s general fund, which taxpayers fill. The remaining money would come from the state highway fund and harbor fund. The claims include lawsuits and labor union grievances against a handful of the state’s 19 departments.
The includes the following in general fund requests:
- Department of Accounting and General Services: $2,141,098
- Department of Education: $471,848
- Hawaii Health Systems Corp.: $19,511.73
- Department of Health: $328,250
- Department of Human Services: $91,053.62
- Department of Land and Natural Resources: $72,349.39
- Department of Public Safety: $558,025
- Miscellaneous: $2,711.38
Those amounts include settlement of a mediation involving Hilo Judiciary Complex construction claims, the largest single payout at $2.14 million. Also included is a settlement between the Hawaii State Teachers Association and Kihei Public Charter School, and an order involving a Child Protective Services social worker, among other claims.
The bill also seeks $2.05 million out of the state highway fund and $55,550 from the state harbor fund for a total of five lawsuit settlements.
The governor also wants money to pay claims and settlements that aren’t labeled as overdue. Those general fund requests include:
- Department of Accounting and General Services: $1,278,000
- Department of Education: $7,500
- Department of Health: $328,250
- Department of Land and Natural Resources: $130,000
- Department of Public Safety: $321,814
- Office of Hawaiian Affairs: $162,500
That bill also seeks $210,000 from the state highway fund to settle a lawsuit.
Identical Senate versions of the measures — and — have not been scheduled for a hearing as of this week.
