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GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM
Gov. David Ige
Gov. David Ige today unveiled his proposed $28.5 billion state budget for the next two years that includes money for severance payouts for Maui hospital workers who will lose their jobs to privatization, funding for new jail space for women offenders, and more money to combat homelessness.
“This budget proposal aims to balance our state’s current needs with our investments for the future — providing basic needs for our residents such as affordable housing, quality public schools, primary healthcare and essential social services,” Ige said in a statement announcing the budget.
Ige is asking state lawmakers to approve an additional $20.9 million per year for the next two years in assistance for the homeless, and also to support people who are at risk of becoming homeless.
Ige’s proposed budget also includes more than $3 billion in new construction funding for harbors, airports, correctional facilitiies and other public infrastructure over the next two years, including $373 million in new schools and classrooms.
a new day in Hawai’i begins when IGE resigns !!!
hope he funded the very important public pre-k efforts.
Allie, I realize giving our young children an early start to education is very important, but, is it really necessary to spend MILLIONS on something that can really be attributed to family. Too many people think it is the state’s responsibility to prep our kids for school. Back in my times there were no “pre-schools” per-se, rather, parents would prep the kids for school. Granted, we live in a more pro-tech days, but, I do not see the added benefit.
If parents stop putting Iphones, tablets, and computer games in front of our kids, get them out and play, socialize and learn from life’s experiences, our kids would be much better off mentally, physically, and socially to enter our educational system more prepared.
You say that yet public school teachers get torched, especially by the readers of this paper. What I want to know is, why no specifics in this article?
Great start for our new economy. Tourism went gangbusters this year.
Article does not stipulate if that amount ($28.5B) is without raising taxes.
You’re not supposed to think about that or bring it up. You’re not playing along correctly. :/
Sad to see Ige kowtowing to his union bosses when he authorized severance payouts for Maui hospital workers who will lose their jobs to privatization.
Same workers who will be hired by the new owner to continue their jobs. Yes a few may not come back but most of them will.
Once again an utterly clueless bureaucrat willfully wasting taxpayer’s money as they do as their special interest bosses tell them. Sad.
I believe Ige was overridden by the legislature. He vetoed the bill and they overrode him….just saying…
Legislators from the outer Islands have a lot of seniority and the other islands are over-represented in the legislature.
Their populations have been moving to Honolulu but in the long term their populations could be much greater then Honolulu. They have a lot of room to grow.
Sounds like hmeessness is becoming a better and better deal.
See I spent all the money. Sorry no money for increases for public employees (salaries, benefits, etc.), retirement of unfunded liabilities, or anything else.
How about something everyone could benefit from? Some decently paved highways, traffic lights that help traffic flow instead of slowing it down, additional highway lanes and on ramps where there is an actual chance of accelerating before getting on the freeway.
Why does a state with 1.4 million people have a $28B budget? $20k each? $40k per worker. What’s the average wage?