Kalbert Young, UH vice president for budget and finance and chief financial officer, shares his update of the 2018 legislative session to date
The Hawaiʻi State Legislature is entering its final month for the 2018 legislative session, and in the next few weeks both the Senate Committee on Ways and Means and the House Committee on Finance will conduct conference committee meetings to decide on the differences between each other’s drafts of the State Budget (HB1900 HD1 SD2). Their ultimate decisions will either provide funding for programs, departments, and agencies across the state, including the University of Hawaiʻi System—or not.
All state departments and the university will be watching these conference meetings to see how they fare as agreements are made. Be warned, the process typically also includes a fairly high degree of disappointment as well. There simply are not enough funds available to meet all the needs or desires of every state department.
At the start of this process, the University of Hawaiʻi submitted a request that consisted of $16,821,507 in additional general funds for FY2019. This amount was to fund various operating programs and initiatives.
Of the university’s original request of $16.8 million, the governor’s executive branch proposal included $6.7 million.
In March, the House of Representatives completed its draft (HD1) of the State Budget, and provided $1,759,000 of the $6.7 million governor’s proposal. Highlights of the HD1 to UH included $300,000 for student success initiatives at UH Mānoa and $750,000 for student services centers at the UH Community Colleges.
At the beginning of April, the senate passed its version of the budget (SD2), which provided $4,898,331 in additional general funds. Highlights from the SD2 to UH include $700,000 for Hawaiʻi Promise funding, using $3 million in transient accommodations tax revenue to fund athletics, and more than $1 million for student success initiatives. The following table shows a synopsis of how UH has fared so far this session on the operating budget, with conference meetings on the budget about to begin:
| Campus | Description | UH BOR | Governor | House | Senate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CCs | Hawaiʻi’s Promise Program | $700,000 | $700,000 | $700,000 | |
| CCs | Architects / Engineers for Facilities | $273,600 | |||
| UHWO | Health and Safety / Utilities / Equipment | $781,000 | $300,000 | $501,000 | |
| Mānoa | Facilities | $4,038,848 | $1,500,000 | ||
| CCs | Additional Positions for Security | $1,083,264 | |||
| Hilo | DKICP – Janitorial and Groundskeeping | $120,495 | $120,495 | ||
| System | Office of Strategic Planning and Development | $500,000 | $90,000 | ||
| Mānoa | Student Success Initiative – Veterans, Filipinos, Mental Health | $575,000 | $400,000 | $300,000 | $400,000 |
| CCs | Apprentice Lecturer Costs | $260,000 | $260,000 | $260,000 | |
| CCs | Filipino Student Support | $614,920 | $350,000 | ||
| CCs | Veterans Support | $473,108 | $473,108 | ||
| Mānoa | Native Hawaiian Affairs Action Plan | $700,000 | $500,000 | $500,000 | |
| CCs | Native Hawaiian Student Support | $1,729,908 | $500,000 | ||
| Hilo | Native Hawaiian Development | $260,000 | $200,000 | $79,000 | $79,000 |
| Hilo | Student Workforce | $200,000 | |||
| Mānoa | Student Research and Innovation | $535,000 | $175,000 | $175,000 | |
| Mānoa | Graduate Student Initiative – Phase I | $2,850,000 | $621,397 | $621,397 | |
| UHWO | Academic Affairs Restructure and Growth | $680,000 | $400,000 | ||
| UHWO | Student Affairs | $446,364 | $200,000 | $130,000 | |
| JABSOM | Alternative Medicine | $500,000 | |||
| CCs | Student Services Centers (1-time training) | $750,000 | |||
| Mānoa | College of Engineering | $155,000 | |||
| Mānoa | College of Education to collaborate with Hawaiian Language College | $100,000 | |||
| Mānoa | Center for Pacific Island Studies | $568,332 | |||
| Mānoa | CTAHR | $820,000 | |||
| Hilo | Janitor and Groundskeeper | $80,330 | |||
| Hilo | Aviation Program | $600,000 | |||
| Hilo | Rat Lungworm Research at DKICP | $199,000 | |||
| Hilo | Hawaiʻi Ant Lab | $100,000 | |||
| Hilo | Indigenous Teacher Education Program | $100,000 | |||
| Hilo | Reduce Funds for Office of Mauna Kea Management | -$800,000 | |||
| UHWO | Health Sciences Academy | $515,000 | |||
| CCs | Agricultural Program at Hawaiʻi CC | $208,600 | |||
| CCs | Librarian for Leeward CC | $60,500 | |||
| CCs | Student Success Initiative at Hawaiʻi CC | $750,000 | |||
| CCs | Architects and Project and Construction Managers | $364,800 | |||
| CCs | Online Learning | $565,372 | |||
| CCs | Value Added Product Development Center | $0 | |||
| System | Reduction | -$5,000,000 | |||
| System | Online Learning | $685,000 | |||
| System | Repair and Maintenance | $1,500,000 | |||
| Total | $16,821,507 | $6,700,000 | $1,759,000 | $4,898,331 |
Most of the university’s operating request was not included in either draft of the state budget, and the senate included a reduction of $5 million to system administration. The senate also funded $3 million to athletics programs from the Hawaiʻi Tourism Special Fund, but that is predicated on the successful passage of a separate bill (HB2010).
On the UH capital improvement projects (CIP) budget, the UH initial request was for $269.7 million for FY2019 to address capital renewal, progress on deferred maintenance and funding for projects to modernize each of the campuses within the UH System. The governor included $120 million of the UH requested amount in his budget request. The house draft of the budget appropriated $92,428,000 while the senate draft provided for $93,507,000 for capital projects.
The following table shows the current CIP breakdown:
| Campus | Project Title | UH BOR | Governor | House | Senate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mānoa | Renew, Improve, Modernize (RIM) projects | $139,500,000 | |||
| Mānoa | Sinclair Library Renovation | $41,000,000 | $20,000,000 | $700,000 | $700,000 |
| Mānoa | Keller Hall Renovations, design phase | $1,500,000 | |||
| Mānoa | Athletics (UOH900) | $11,100,000 | $11,100,000 | ||
| Mānoa | Cancer Center Annex – Early Phase Clinical Trials Program (UOH900) | $200,000 | |||
| Hilo | Renew, Improve, Modernize projects | $27,900,000 | |||
| Hilo | Puako Marine Educational Center, design phase | $1,000,000 | $3,200,000 | $23,000 | |
| Hilo | Hale ʻAlahonua Air Conditioning | $3,000,000 | |||
| Hilo | Phase II and Phase III of Haleʻōlelo Complex for College of Hawaiian Language | $500,000 | |||
| UHWO | Renew, Improve, Modernize projects | $3,000,000 | |||
| UHWO | Relocation of Dental Hygiene Program from UH Mānoa to UH West Oʻahu | $10,000,000 | |||
| UHWO | Campus Center Extension | $5,000,000 | |||
| CCs | Capital Renewal and Deferred Maintenance | $25,000,000 | $12,000,000 | $6,275,000 | $6,500,000 |
| CCs | Minor Capital Improvement Projects | $10,000,000 | $10,000,000 | $10,000,000 | $10,000,000 |
| CCs | Hawaiʻi CC – Campus Development, design phase | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | ||
| CCs | Leeward CC – Repave Fascia and Replace Walkways Campuswide | $8,800,000 | |||
| CCs | Maui – Expansion of Culinary Arts Program to Lahaina | $400,000 | $400,000 | ||
| CCs | Hawaiʻi CC – Pālamanui Outdoor Learning Area and Dining Area Improvements | $1,173,000 | |||
| System | Mauna Kea Cultural and Educational Visitor’s Center | $3,000,000 | $23,000 | ||
| System | Renew, Improve, Modernize (RIM) Projects | $76,000,000 | $56,980,000 | $56,061,000 | |
| Total | $269,700,000 | $120,000,000 | $92,828,000 | $93,507,000 |
Once the conference committee meetings start, much will need to be discussed between conference committee members. There are a variety of issues facing the legislature this year—not only the budget. All of these issues do have some impact or effect on the budget and the political dynamics. The conference committee process is generally a closed, non-public decision making process, so we all need to patiently wait for the end of session to see how the university fares. The Hawaiʻi State Legislature is scheduled to adjourn on May 3, 2018.
