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The Hawaii House money committee trimmed Gov. Neil Abercrombie‘s executive budget request by $53 million Wednesday in light of a dramatic downgrade that’s expected in the state financial forecast.

Finance Chair Sylvia Luke said she and her colleagues believe the will further reduce the rate at which Hawaii’s economy is expected to grow in 2014 when it meets Tuesday.

The council already dropped its forecast for state general fund tax revenues from at its last meeting in January. Luke said the council may cut this rate down to 2 percent or even 1 percent next week.

Hawaii tax collections over the past three months are down $10 million from the same period last year, Luke said.

Abercrombie has touted a record $844 million carryover balance for 2013. It’s money his administration hopes to use to ramp up his early childhood education initiatives and pay down a $24 billion hole in the state’s health and retirement pension systems.

If the council were to downgrade the revenue forecast to 2 percent, the carryover would be $690 million for 2014 and $216 million for 2015, Luke said. If it dropped to 1 percent, it would be $643 million for 2014 and $103 million for 2015.

“That’s something everyone in this committee should be very uncomfortable with,” she said.

To put it in perspective, the state had a $720 million surplus in 2007, Luke said in a news release after the meeting. But starting in October 2008 the economy entered a deep recession and Hawaii was faced with a $2.1 billion deficit over three years

The governor has taken credit for a $1.1 billion fiscal turnaround since he took office in December 2010.

Abercrombie is running for re-election against David Ige, Luke’s counterpart in the Senate. Ige has said the surplus was achieved jointly between the Legislature and executive branch.

Even with the $844 million carryover, Ige has cautioned that the state financial picture isn’t as rosy as it may seem. Based on collective bargaining agreements and the budget adopted last year, he has said the state plans to spend $145 million more than it is forecast to bring in in the coming year, and $341 million more than it will likely take in the year after that.

Further budget belt-tightening may be needed if the council downgrades the financial forecast as expected.

“We want to ensure that government and the services that people rely on are consistent and sustainable for the long term, and can withstand the cyclical nature of the economy,” Luke said in the release. “A sound and far-sighted budget allows the State to operate confidently and plan strategically for the future. We want to make sure that the structural foundation of our house is stable before adding on more rooms.”

The state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism lowered its forecast for economic growth in Hawaii for this year and next due to smaller-than-expected gains in visitor arrivals and spending, she said.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority has also noted that visitor expenditures are down 4.7 percent compared to last year and visitors are spending $10 less per day.

The supplemental operating budget total for fiscal 2014, which began July 1, is $5.98 billion in general funds. The budget is $6.25 billion for 2015.

The House approach to the budget again this year will be to boost transparency by cutting vacant positions, Luke said, and trying to force departments to use the money for the purpose it was appropriated instead of having agencies do things like reclassify jobs.

The Finance Committee heard from agency representatives and department heads for roughly three hours Wednesday before unanimously passing .

The House detailed some of the funding highlights:

Department of Education

• $14.5 million for the Weighted Student Formula to be distributed to schools statewide
• $674,924 to fund programs focused on helping students become college-ready
• $4.7 million to continue critical programs started with federal funds under the Race To The Top program
• $3 million to launch a prekindergarten program at DOE schools to prepare the state’s 4-year-olds to enter kindergarten
• $300,000 for the State Public Library System to offer extended public service hours in eight neighbor island libraries that currently have no weekend hours
• $597,219 to continue the Hawaii State Public Library System’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, which allows patrons to access computers in libraries and borrow netbooks for free

University of Hawaii

• $39.9 million for collective bargaining agreements, salary restoration, and increases to support the University of Hawaii
• $1 million to support Hawaii’s community colleges by providing for outcome based funding tied to student performance and graduation rates

Department of Accounting and General Services

• $102,624 for the Office of Elections to reestablish critical positions
• $346,668 to establish an online statewide voter registration system

Department of Public Safety

• $1,599,730 to expand mental health care programs for the purpose of instituting nationally accepted mental health care standards
• $592,146 to upgrade and replace outdated equipment, including surveillance camera systems, at various correctional facilities statewide
• $130,000 to expand the Sex Offender’s Treatment Program

Department of Health

• $482,000 for new equipment at the state labs for environmental monitoring of water, air, and soil, and in the regulation of agriculture and food safety. Tests which used to take hours to complete can be completed in minutes
• $2.8 million for the Hilo Medical center residency program
• $3 million for shortfalls in federally mandated services
• $1.5 million to provide care for the most developmentally handicapped
• $1.4 million for the children with special health needs branch to provide early intervention services to young children

Department of Defense

• $2 million in federal funds and $652,179 in general funds to support the Hawaii Air National Guard facility at the Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam
• $1 million for mitigating hazardous situations statewide, including rockfall mitigation

Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism

• $1.2 million for initiatives that contribute to the development of renewable and efficient energy in Hawaii and meet Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative goals, including $475,000 for technical assistance with inter-island cable issues; $500,000 for the Energy-Focused Economic Development Program; and $250,000 for technical expertise for upcoming Public Utility Commission dockets.
• $1.1 million to foster Hawaii’s foreign relations and domestic economy through supporting international education programs with $394,000 to support understaffed Beijing and Taipei state offices; $150,000 for an International Student Attraction program; $300,000 for a China Visa Streamlining Project; and $250,000 for fostering sister-state relationships.

Department of Human Services

• $2.6 million to raise the general assistance monthly payment to $348
• $1.5 million for the Housing First Program to house the most vulnerable and chronically homeless and coordinate intensive support services
• $3.5 million for the Child Care Connection Hawaii and First-to-Work child care subsidy programs to reduce out of pocket expenses for parents who are working or going to school
• $2.2 million for the REACH program, which engages at-risk middle and intermediate school students in after-school activities

Department of Labor and Industrial Relations

• $1.3 million for an electronic case management system to increase efficiency, reduce paperwork, and provide better customer service in the Disability Compensation Program

Department of Land and Natural Resources

• $1.7 million for training and operating supplies needed to adequately equip Division of Conservation and Resource Enforcement officers
• $1 million and 12 positions for DOCARE officers to be deployed on Maui, Hawaii, and Kauai

The state budget bill heads to a vote before the full House next.

• Contact Nathan Eagle via email at neagle@civilbeat.com or Twitter at .