Gov. Josh Green has signed a $20 billion state budget meant to account for federal cuts while maintaining benefits and services for residents.
There were challenges this year to settle on a budget that both the state House of Representatives and Senate could agree on, as lawmakers had to find funding for important programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid, faced significant slashes by the Trump administration.
But Green's office, in a news release, said the budget “continues to invest in Hawai‘i's priorities, including affordable housing, support for local families, public health initiatives and economic development opportunities, particularly amid reductions and uncertainty in federal funding.”
A significant part of the budget discussion involved a proposal to pause the 2024 income tax break for residents.
Green had suggested the pause to fund essential state services, but lawmakers managed to keep much of it intact — albeit by making controversial cuts elsewhere, namely to the state Renewable Energy Technologies Income Tax Credit.
Following Green's signing, House Finance Chair Chris Todd said the federal government's volatility should push the state to be more "ambitious" in the future to provide for residents.
“In some ways, this mess at the federal government should cause us to pause and reflect on what the state's role in providing services and opportunities is,” Todd said. “And if there's so much uncertainty around whether the federal government is going to be able to deliver what has previously been their obligation, the states need to take an opportunity to take a step forward and guarantee that these things are in place … I think we should be looking at being much more aggressive in pursuing just basic quality of life solutions here for Hawaiʻi.”
He said the state has enough financial flexibility to have such goals, which Todd said includes free community college.
The budget discussions allocated about $129 million in Green Fee revenue over the next 18 months to support more than 90 projects.
