Gov. David Ige’s first State of the State address to the Legislature on Monday painted broad strokes and offered only a smattering of details, but that was OKwith many of the folks who took in the 30-minute address.

Most current and former Capitol playmakers said they like that Ige spoke about basic governing principles while promising few specific funding proposals. They said they are willing to give the new governor time to formulate the finer details, especially given the state’s dim budget outlook.

Beside fiscal austerity, Ige said he is "committed to transforming the culture of government to embrace and accelerate change"so the state is not left behind.

Senate Ways and Means Chairwoman Jill Tokuda (D, Kailua-Kaneohe) said it was refreshing to hear a gubernatorial address that did not drop a laundry list of new projects and programs on lawmakers.

"This governor is very realistic of the kinds of obligations and the kinds of fiscal restraints that we’re under,"Tokuda said. "It’s a modest request … but this is a very different approach from what we’ve seen in past years, and that’s helpful to start off what will be a difficult year."

House Finance Chairwoman Sylvia Luke (D, Punchbowl-Pauoa-Nuuanu) said she was pleased that Ige has continued to promote fiscal restraint as he did when he was Senate Ways and Means chairman. That’s in line with the majority of lawmakers who want "steady growth"and no new major initiatives or growth in government,she said.

"It is time for us to take a look at the quality of services that the state provides, that our agencies provide."

Even the Senate’s lone Republican, Sen. Sam Slom (R, Diamond Head-Kahala-Hawaii Kai), said he appreciated Ige’s approach to the address.

"Ithought it was a very reassuring speech,"Slom said. "It was kind of short on specifics … (but) I understand. He’s still learning the ropes. It’s different on the other side of the table. He’s very thoughtful, he’s very deliberative. That’s his style, and I think that’s a good thing."

House Minority Leader Beth Fukumoto Chang (R, Mililani-Mililani Mauka-Waipio Acres) expressed unhappiness that Ige did not provide more specific plans.

"The devil is in the details,"Fukumoto Chang said. She said she would have liked to learn how the governor intends to lasso the cost of the rail project and provide jobs he promised to create during the speech. Job growth is the top priority for House Republicans.

Also in his address, Ige recommitted to supporting the city’s more than $5 billion rail project, calling it a critical tool for the state to provide affordable housing for Hawaii residents. He pledged $100 million to a rental assistance housing fund "that can be leveraged with private money and state-owned lands along the transit route to provide rental homes for working families."

But in a reference to the push this session by Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell and city transit officials to extend the half-percent surcharge on the excise tax beyond 2022, the governor warned, "Let’s also make sure we do things the right way for the right reasons, including cost containment, before we ask for more money."

Caldwell, in remarks later Monday to lawmakers on the House Finance and Senate Ways and Means committees, applauded Ige’s support for planning housing around major transit hubs, and said he welcomed more scrutiny of rail financing.

Ige sent a strong message to leaders in both the University of Hawaii and public school systems to work more efficiently and toward more autonomy for those running classrooms.

Avoiding specific UH controversies such as the cost of salvaging the financially troubled UH Cancer Center, Ige said, "Ichallenge our university leaders to focus on execution, accountability and delivery in all that they do."

The governor said he is asking for an unspecified amount of additional money for the Department of Education’s weighted student formula that would allow school principals to decide how to spend some money. He added, "Ichallenge the leaders of public education to stop issuing mandates from the state office and to focus on empowering schools and delivering resources to the school level."

Ige said he’s been told by federal officials that the state can "be more aggressive"and tap an estimated $940 million "for the right projects, proposed for the right reasons and at the right time." After his speech, Ige said he was told those funds can be found in the areas of transportation and clean water.

He reiterated his pledge to modernize the tax collection system, which will cost the state more than $150 million, to make it more efficient and reduce cheating.

"The upgrade will better secure information and increase tax revenues through its efficiencies,"he said. The upgrade should "eventually pay for itself through these increased revenues,"he said.

In the health arena, the administration "will be working with all stakeholders to ensure that we move toward a suitable exchange, one that meets the requirements of the Affordable Care Act without endangering Hawaii’s Prepaid Healthcare." Universal health care, he said, "is within our grasp in Hawaii."

Ige said he wants to address the financial crisis that has hit the state hospital system, but offered few details.

"Public-private partnerships offer great potential, but only if they are shaped in the right way," he said.

Later, Ige told reporters the hospitals will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

"It’s about how we can operate them better and more efficiently," he said.

Ige pledged to create a paperless government, saying that the state currently goes through 1 million pages a month. He said the Senate generated more than $1.2 million in savings over two years after it agreed to go paperless and place all documents online.

House Vice Speaker John Mizuno (D, Kamehameha Heights-Kalihi Valley) cited the paperless government initiative as one part of Ige’s speech that he liked.

"This is an innovative, technology-savvy governor," he said. "This is also a fiscally prudent governor. Idon’t see government growing, but I see him trying to be more efficient with what we have."

In a nod to Native Hawaiian interests, Ige told lawmakers that the state needs "to fulfill our obligations to our host culture whose sense of aloha influences everything we do." He offered no specific proposals, however. 

Another topic sure to be a heated point of discussion this session that Ige did not mention was the future of Oahu Community Correctional Center. There’s been a lot of discussion whether it’s time for lawmakers to consider swapping the prime land under the Kalihi facility, which sits along the rail line, for land elsewhere more suitable for a prison.

Ige, after the speech, told reporters that he is appointing a state planner to evaluate all state lands along the rail route to see how they might be used best.

Regarding the recently proposed sale of Hawaiian Electric, the state’s largest energy provider, to NextEra, Ige said he wants new Public Utilities Commission chief, Randy Iwase, "to be actively involved"in the transaction.

The governor said he is adding $10 million for the Hawaii Growth Initiative to support a push to nurture "an innovation economy" and is pledging $5 million to the agricultural loan program that could be available for biosecurity and food safety needs.

Ige repeated several times that he believes decision-makers need to continually remind themselves that they are working on their home: Hawaii. "It’s quite simple,"he said. "We are building a home for our kupuna, ourselves and our children."

Former Gov. Neil Abercrombie, the man Ige upset in the Democratic primary in August, said he was happy with Ige’s speech. "The program orientation is an extension of what we were doing, and I couldn’t be more pleased about that,"he said.