Gov. David Ige informed the Legislature Wednesday that he has vetoed funding in the state budget for two dozen projects costing $244 million, partly because state lawmakers appropriated more federal pandemic recovery aid than the state received.

The governor’s list of line-item vetoes in the budget bill, which lawmakers passed May 3, also includes most state funding for two big planned projects on Oahu — improvements to the Lake Wilson reservoir in Wahiawa and an envisioned campus for state, county and federal first-­responder agencies in Mililani.

Appropriations vetoed for these two state-funded projects total $76.6 million.

The other 22 vetoed project appropriations were slated for federal funding under the American Rescue Plan Act, and total $167 million, of which $104 million is not available, according to the governor.

“I appreciate all the effort of the Legislature,” Ige said during a briefing after he sent his veto notice to lawmakers. “I do believe that these line-item vetoes are appropriate. I would note that the bulk of appropriations made by the Legislature will be moving forward.”

The state’s total budget for the fiscal year that began July 1 is $16.9 billion, which includes operations and capital improvement projects.

Ige intends to sign the budget bill, House Bill 1600, today.

This is the second year in a row that Ige has vetoed items in the budget that were to be funded by ARPA money. Last year the governor cut $315.6 million in coronavirus recovery aid spending. Nearly all of it, almost $314 million, was appropriated for debt service, which the federal government prohibited.

In total, Hawaii received about $1.6 billion in ARPA funds. Nearly all of that was appropriated last year, though lawmakers had some available this year due in large part to Ige’s veto last year.

The governor intends to use some of the money freed up by his budgetary vetoes to increase funding for the University of Hawaii and to replace some or all of $88.5 million in funding for Hawaii Tourism Authority and Hawaii Convention Center operations that was included in a bill that Ige said he intends to veto because of how it was passed.

This bill, HB 1147, had $88.5 million in funding inserted at the end of the legislative session with no opportunity for public input, which Ige called an unconstitutional move. He cited a Hawaii Supreme Court ruling last year that addressed a previous example of a bill that had been gutted and replaced in violation of the state Constitution that requires a bill with its original principal or relevant amended content to receive public readings.

Appropriations that may not be funded if Ige’s line-item vetoes of ARPA spending in the budget bill stand include $10 million to remove property abandoned by the homeless on Oahu highways; $10.8 million for homeless assistance; $13.8 million for infrastructure improvements in Kalaeloa; $35 million for unemploy­ment insurance program costs; and a $41 million subsidy for the state-run community hospital operator Hawaii Health Systems Corp.

Ige’s line-item vetoes of state funding in the budget bill represented major, but not total, cuts for the Lake Wilson and First Responder Technology Campus projects.

The Lake Wilson project includes planned improvements to the reservoir’s spillway and using water for agriculture irrigation. Ige’s spending veto for this project cuts $23.8 million and leaves $3.5 million because he said state agencies have not done prerequisite work needed before major funding should be available.

“A project of this nature is a major undertaking and poses significant legal, regulatory and financial burdens for the state,” he said.

For the envisioned First Responder Technology Campus, Ige has vetoed $52.8 million in spending while leaving $16.6 million in the budget for initial work on the project that is expected to take 15 years to develop at an estimated cost of $315 million to $470 million shared by county and federal agencies.

This project is being designed for 19 agencies and would include office space, warehouses, training facilities, a cybersecurity data center, a 100-bed dorm, a 150-bed hotel, 400 to 500 apartments and other things.

Ige said it is unlikely that a necessary master plan can be produced before the Legislature’s total budget appropriation lapses in June 2024.

“Planning and permitting for the campus is still in its initial stages,” he said.

The Legislature has the ability to override vetoes by the governor, but would need to convene a special session by July 12 and muster two-thirds votes in the House and Senate to override individual vetoes.