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Updated 3:45 p.m., 4/24/2014

Gov. Neil Abercrombie is taking Sen. David Ige to task over failing to put $40 million in the state budget to pay the state’s share of a sensitive land deal with Turtle Bay Resort.

Ige, the Senate’s lead budget negotiator, told reporters Wednesday that the money isn’t in the House or Senate versions of the state spending plan for next year because the administration indicated the negotiations and timeline for concluding the agreement would take at least until the end of the year.

But the governor’s office said Thursday Abercrombie had asked for the money early on and expected it to be there.

Abercrombie’s spokesman, Justin Fujioka, said that $40 million in general obligation bonds were included in the governor’s supplemental budget this year and a working group was formed a year ago with the goal that an agreement with Turtle Bay Resort could be reached in time to fund a deal this legislative session. The urgency of a Turtle Bay deal was also outlined in this year’s State of the State, he added.

Abercrombie announced last week that state and city officials had reached a $48.5 million agreement with the Turtle Bay Resort developers to protect 665 acres on the north shore of Oahu.

The deal involves Honolulu kicking in $5 million, the Trust for Public Land pitching in $3.5 million and the state picking up the remainder to buy a conservation easement.

Trust for Public Land Hawaiian Islands Program Director Lea Hong was similarly dismayed by Ige’s comments. She said Thursday that it’s common for the state to set aside funding for major land deals even before an agreement is finalized because it demonstrates the commitment.

Ige is sticking to his statement. His office clarified Thursday that Ige received a letter via Sen. Clayton Hee from state Land and Natural Resources Director William Aila last November that alluded to the fact that they were not close to an agreement.

The update left Ige’s office with the impression that the deal would take years, so even though the governor included the money in his budget submittal it basically wouldn’t matter because the transaction wasn’t close to happening.

Update The Nov. 30 letter from Aila to Hee reports on the progress that has been made in the state’s negotiations with the resort. It concludes by asking the Legislature for its support “to fund this historic and monumental effort over a number of years to purchase the conservation easement,” starting with the governor’s $40 million general obligation bond request.

Ige’s office said it became even more challenging to find $40 million for the Turtle Bay deal after the Council on Revenues in March downgraded the state’s revenue forecast to zero growth for 2014 and 5.5 percent for 2015, leaving lawmakers with almost half a billion dollars less than they expected to have to balance the biennium budget.

For her part, House Finance Chair Sylvia Luke said Wednesday that she hasn’t included the Turtle Bay money in the House budget because she has yet to see the details of the agreement.

Update Ige released a statement Thursday afternoon that underscored his desire to conserve the property.

“My colleagues in the Senate and I have long been committed to the preservation of this North Shore property as validated in public records with the passage of the land acquisition bill , both last and this session. Although we were made aware of this settlement agreement during the final days of this legislative session, I am working very hard to find a way to fund it.”

With Ige pretty much on the same page as Abercrombie when it comes to funding education and other initiatives, the Turtle Bay money has become one of the first big public disagreements between the two gubernatorial candidates.

The Democratic primary is Aug. 9, which doesn’t leave a lot of time for the two to distinguish themselves.

While Ige was happy about the Turtle Bay agreement, he said he would only consider it “in a fiscally responsible manner.” But if the funding doesn’t go through, Abercrombie can use it against him campaigning.

The budget conference committee resumes its work at 10:15 a.m. Friday and expects to finalize its draft by the 6 p.m. deadline, so the public should know soon if the Legislature plans to set aside money for the land deal.

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