Issue Position: A Responsible Budget

Issue Position

"A balanced, responsible budget that makes the most of our State's limited resources is a must for sound governance."

New Law Requires Hawaii To Pay Down State Debt

In 2013 a new generation of younger leaders stepped forward and we made it a priority to pay down the burden of state debt accumulated over the last fifty years so we can pass our next generation a clean slate. The first step was to put $100 million back into the Hurricane Relief Fund and Rainy Day Fund to prepare Hawaii for future disasters without having to borrow more money. Keeping this balance on hand will also help maintain Hawaii's outstanding credit rating and help lower our interest rates on construction loans so the cost of building new schools and roads will decrease.

The second step was paying down $16 Billion in decades of accumulated state debt that has been largely ignored -- until now. We became a national model for sound fiscal policy by writing a law that requires us to pay down this debt. We began by setting aside $217 million to start a payment plan.

From now on the new law requires the State to make increasingly larger payments to eliminate our debt, and empowers the State Budget Director to divert revenue to make payments if future Legislatures fail to make adequate annual contributions. Under this new law the State will be paying more than $500 million a year to pay down our debt.

Fighting The Pension Tax And Other Unnecessary Increases

One of the biggest battles recently was pushing to maintain fiscally responsible taxes. Early in the Legislative Session there was great pressure to push new taxes on people's pensions. Fortunately, with the help of businesses, unions, and organizations such as AARP some of us were able to band together and defeat the proposal. Even though the tax was eventually restricted to a limited number of pensions, there are better places to find money to maintain proper government services without resporting to a tax on retirees and those depending on a fixed income.

Another hard-hitting increase which I had to fight back against was the proposal to nearly double vehicle registration fees. For any family who owns a car and must commute to work or school it's hard enough as it is to afford gas and insurance without having to worry about vehicle registration fees. Unfortunately, though I voted to stop it, this bill eventually passed.

One of the most far-reaching proposals that would have increased costs for everyone was an attempt to establish toll roads in Hawaii. To pay for upgrades to aging roads the Department of Transportation would have been authorized to make existing highways such as the Pali or Likelike toll roads that residents would have to pay to traverse. Unfortunately, toll roads are extremely regressive and we already pay significant taxes to maintain our highways. We should not be charging people for commuting to work each day, especially when the economic impact is worst on those who can least afford it.

Cutting The Budget And Making It Through The Recession

Throughout the recession beginning in 2008, the biggest challenge for the State has been maintaining a fiscally responsible and balanced state budget. In the succeeding four years we ended up cutting billions of dollars in state spending to make it through that economically difficult time. While many of these cuts were incredibly hard decisions, they have afforded us an opportunity to review and prioritize critical state services, and have allowed us to slowly begin rebuilding a more efficient and effective government.

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