The state budget that Gov. David Ige has proposed is likely to be heavy on the capital improvements side — which on the whole makes a lot of sense, given that the state’s bond rating is strong enough to support borrowing on favorable financial terms.
The challenge will be making some of the converging plans line up so that money is spent productively. Hawaii may be on firm financial footing now, but that doesn’t mean there’s room for waste.
One primary question to be answered is how to make needed changes to the state’s correctional system — an enterprise that’s complicated, with a lot of moving parts.
The state would need congressional approval to buy the largely vacant Federal Detention Center, located near the airport, as a replacement facility for the island’s critically overcrowded jail, Oahu Community Correctional Center on Dillingham Boulevard.
The governor is right to pursue such a neat solution to a knotty problem. Unfortunately, the state has not made enough progress on securing this option; the congressional delegation must escalate the inquiry to see if it is truly viable.
While waiting for an answer, Ige wants to fund an alternative: building a new jail near the existing Halawa prison complex. The governor may have trouble prying this money loose from legislators.
The administration is keeping within the $2.331 billion construction budget approved for the current fiscal year. But the capital improvements for fiscal 2021 would cost $2.624 billion,
$1.458 billion more than what had been enacted.
Among the new requests is
$20 million in consulting fees to “acquire or to construct” the replacement for OCCC. Lawmakers, already leery of unsupported spending here, still have too many valid questions to make such a big allotment for consultation.
For starters, efforts to pare down the pretrial detainee population housed at OCCC have not had time to have an effect. A pretrial reform task force made recommendations to the Legislature last session; some of these were enacted, along with the establishment of the new Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission.
Still, it seems doubtful that the lawmakers who guard the state pursestrings, including House Finance Chairwoman Sylvia Luke, are going to feel comfortable handing over $20 million to consultants when it’s still not clear what the needed jail capacity will be. The Legislature turned down a similar request last session, and that was for only $5 million.
If Ige hopes to win them over, he will need better information on options. Ideally, the newly created commission would play a role in seeing that the pretrial population and the overall corrections census are managed properly, but that’s barely been launched.
The governor undoubtedly wants to relocate the jail promptly so that plans for redeveloping the Dillingham property could be made in tandem with the rail construction on that corridor. But it’s still unwise to spend money on consulting fees the state really doesn’t have to spare, and for planning that ultimately may become outdated.
Also on the capital improvements list are public-school and University of Hawaii facilities projects, amounting to $220 million and $86.8 million, respectively. It would be smart to move many of these projects off the facilities to-do list while interest rates are low.
Further, Ige is requesting
$200 million to widen the eastbound side of the H-1 freeway to six lanes, from Waikele to Halawa. Shelly Kunishige of Department of Transportation public affairs said this bond would be repaid with anticipated revenues from the new rental car surcharge, but added that DOT is looking at ways to reduce costs by doing more restriping and less structural change to the viaduct. It would be smart to retain that fallback plan.
On the operational side, Ige’s new proposed blueprint estimates $146 million more to be spent in general funds in 2020 than the state will collect in revenue; assuming no new taxes. The deficit spending would hit $288 million for the following year.
This is discouraging, considering that there will certainly be a push for other big-ticket items. Ige and the state Board of Education are seeking an increase in pay to benefit teachers in Hawaiian immersion, special education and for assignment to difficult-to-staff areas.
This surely will factor into collective bargaining for union workers across the board, something the state must consider now even if that bill won’t come due immediately.
And in the midst of all this spending, lawmakers are sure to feel pressure from advocates supporting an increase in the minimum wage. That poses more of a burden on the private sector than the state budget, but it could be a difficult ask if the state also needs to round up more tax revenue to cover added expenses.
A healthy economy clearly has enabled the state’s push for extra spending, But sustained growth prospects are not rock-solid, so caution is warranted. Lawmakers are sure to remind Ige of that.
