Proposed State Budget Includes Money For Public School Raises, Geothermal Exploration
The budget would also provide millions of dollars in extra support to the Hawaii State Hospital.
House and Senate negotiators reached agreement Tuesday evening on a $19.21 billion state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 that includes raises for public school vice principals and extra money for small and rural public schools.
The proposed budget also includes $6 million for new geothermal energy exploration, funding that was requested by the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to explore the possibility of developing geothermal power on DHHL lands to provide a new revenue stream for the department.
House Speaker Scott Saiki praised the work of his colleagues after the House Finance Committee and Senate Ways and Means Committee gave preliminary approval to , which is the new budget document.
“Obviously, the House and Senate committees did an excellent job in prioritizing the core needs within the state budget. Over the next few days, they’ll be working on approving appropriation bills that will further support critical services in our state,” Saiki said.
The budget document does not include the bulk of the state funding to help finance the recovery from the Aug. 8 Maui wildfire disaster. That money will certainly total hundreds of millions of dollars, and is being packaged in separate bills.
The proposed new funding for public education includes $18.9 million for increases in the weighted student formula, including $6 million that Senate Ways and Means Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz said would be earmarked for “small and remote schools.”
It also features $14.9 million for pay raises for public school educational assistants and vice principals, according to a draft budget summary provided by Saiki.
The new spending plan also directs extra funding to the Hawaii State Hospital, a state-run facility that has been the subject of increased scrutiny this year after 29-year-old nurse Justin Bautista was fatally stabbed by a recently released patient on the hospital grounds.
Dela Cruz announced Tuesday the new budget adds 10 forensic psychologist positions and nearly $1 million to speed court evaluations at the hospital. Hospital officials say crowded conditions at the facility are aggravated by long delays in evaluating patients to determine if they are fit to stand trial.
A draft summary of the proposed budget also lists $11.6 million to make other improvements at the hospital, including “upgraded safety and security measures.”
The spending plan will deliver less funding for nonprofit social service agencies and community organizations than lawmakers have provided in past years, but does provide some.
It includes about $20 million in grants for construction projects for those agencies, and $9.7 million in cash subsidies to support their operations.
HB 1800 now goes to the full House and Senate for further debate and floor votes.
