The House Finance Committee on Wednesday signed off on its first rewrite of HB 1800, sending a slimmed-down version of Gov. Josh Green’s budget to the full House after trimming roughly $100 million from his original ask. The committee’s draft keeps the big infrastructure money on the table while steering more cash back into lifeline programs and long-delayed school repairs, a move lawmakers say is meant to blunt the impact of shrinking federal support and tee up negotiations with the Senate.
Committee moves budget forward
The panel approved HB 1800 HD1 on March 11 and moved it to the House floor, where a vote is expected before the bill heads to the Senate around March 18. The revised plan blends operating boosts with bond-funded capital projects so that core services can keep running even as federal dollars dry up. Committee Chair Chris Todd said the reshaped budget "reflects the state's efforts to step up and address funding gaps created by federal reductions to critical lifeline programs," according to Maui Now.
Big-ticket spending and cuts
In its new form, the bill outlines about $10.7 billion in general fund appropriations for state operations and, after the committee’s edits, cuts roughly $100 million from the governor’s initial proposal. The draft steers about $365 million into airport improvements, roughly $651 million into highway work and $185 million into University of Hawaii facility upgrades. It also restores money for school repair projects and sets aside $130 million for affordable rental housing. Those line items and other adjustments are detailed in local coverage of the committee’s draft, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Aloha Stadium and capital projects
The House version keeps $49.5 million in state costs tied to the Aloha Stadium redevelopment on top of the $350 million already provided for the project’s private developer. The same capital-improvement worksheets filed with the Legislature list that amount alongside a long list of smaller CIP projects across the islands. As laid out in the House draft of HB 1800 HD1, the total state bond and CIP figures appear in the bill packet posted by the Legislature: HB 1800 HD1.
What’s next
The full 51-member House must vote on the bill before it heads to the Senate Ways and Means Committee, where senators will stack the House plan against their own version. Lawmakers say they expect to hash out differences in a joint conference committee near the start of May, with more amendments likely along the way. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that the coming talks will focus on how to juggle costly infrastructure projects with rising day-to-day operating expenses.
For residents across the islands, that tug-of-war means money for airports, roads, schools and housing is still very much in play as lawmakers and the governor argue over final numbers. Advocates for public education, affordable housing and university improvements say they will be watching the floor debates and committee meetings closely. Expect more targeted tinkering with the bill before the Legislature wraps up its work later this spring.
