Representative Jon Riki Karamatsu
Floor Speech on House Bill 200, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, C.D. 1
April 29, 2003
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support.
The challenge of balancing the budget this Legislative Session was enormous. Last year the Governor made promises to not raise taxes, lay off workers, and take monies from the Hurricane Fund. This took off all the options from the table for discussion because anyone who disagreed with her would be called an obstructionist in one of her many press releases against the legislature. Moreover, the Council of Revenues projections looked grim.
The House was eager to work with her. However, in the House Committee on Finance, the Administration was late making many deadlines regarding their proposed budget, which made it difficult for the committee to move forward since time was of the essence. When the Administration's proposed budget was finally presented by the Department of Budget and Finance, there was to be a five percent cut across the board for all departments. However, Education and Higher Education ended up taking most of the cuts, much higher than five percent.
The House and Senate came together and worked out their differences and came up with a balanced budget. The House and Senate placed education as a top priority by restoring the Governor's cuts in education. In addition, taxes were not raised, people were not laid off, and the Hurricane Fund was not tapped. Given the circumstances, balancing the budget was an accomplishment.
Thank you Mr. Speaker.
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