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Consider it Round 1 of the state budgeting process, with the state House sending House Bill 1800 over to the Senate. The proposed bill appropriates $11.3 billion in general fund revenue for the fiscal year starting July 1, up 14% from last year’s budget; when including other sources such as debt and federal money, the draft operations budget totals $20.4 billion. And yes, that includes $1 billion for Maui wildfire recovery.
Round 2 will involve changes big and small by the Senate, which has painted a more-dire fiscal picture than the House. And it must include sharper financial figures about Maui recovery from the Green administration.