Kalbert Young, UH vice president for budget and finance and chief financial officer, shares his analysis of the UH budget as it goes through the 2022 Hawaiʻi State Legislative session.
There are two more weeks left in the 2022 legislative session as the House of Representatives and the Senate have begun to negotiate differences on their budget bills and other measures that have survived to this point. The outcomes of these Conference Committee meetings will ultimately decide funding for programs, departments and agencies across the state, including the University of Hawaiʻi.
In my last update, I provided a summary of the House draft of the budget bill (HB 1600 HD1) that crossed over from the House to the Senate on March 17. The Senate Committee on Ways and Means has since passed its budget draft, HB 1600 HD1 SD2 and sent it back to the House. The Legislature has until April 29 to finish their conference committee meetings and craft a final version of the budget.
I am pleased to report that both the House and the Senate budgets include the vast majority of our primary budget request this legislative session, the restoration of about $42.5 million in funds cut last year. The lone exception is that the Senate did not restore $1,080,000 of funding to UH West Oʻahu. There are other concerns.
The Senate draft of the budget bill includes 23 provisos specifically related to UH that place restrictions, requirements and/or conditions on the funding. This represents the most provisos I have ever seen attached to the budget.
The Senate draft also provides funds to significantly more individual items compared to the House draft. While funding is always appreciated, the vast majority of these items were not requested by the Board of Regents or UH Administration, so are considered legislative initiatives. The driving reasons for the increase in funding to UH is to satisfy federal Maintenance of Effort requirements (more on that shortly) and because State tax revenues are coming in above forecasted levels. That means there are a lot of State funds that the Legislature is trying to deploy.
My team has created a table that compares the total general fund budgets for each of the campuses in the board, governor, House and Senate versions of the budget, and the dozens of added items and provisos. Due to its length, it has been placed at the end of this online message.
Maintenance of Effort
The Maintenance of Effort (MOE) is a provision in the federal coronavirus response packages (CARES, ARPA, etc.). The intent is to ensure that lower and higher education continue to receive their pre-pandemic percentage of the state budget, and noncompliance could jeopardize hundreds of millions of dollars of federal aid to the state. Federal guidelines from the U.S. Department of Education state that “…in quantifying support for higher education, the data used by a State to determine the level of support may not include support for capital projects, research and development, or tuition and fees paid by students.”
At this point, many of the Senate’s add-ons may not comply with the federal guidelines and are being reviewed as part of the process ahead of Conference Committees. The Legislature, state, and UH need to be certain that add-ons are in compliance with the MOE provision. UH is working with legislators in the House and Senate, and with the State Department of Budget and Finance to address the issue.
Positions eliminated
An item of serious concern in the Senate’s budget draft is the elimination of more than 90 position counts. While most are intentionally vacant due to fiscal preservation measures in place due to the pandemic, there are three specific employees targeted for elimination, including the UH System/UH Mānoa Director of Communications, a faculty specialist at UH West Oʻahu, and an assistant in the Board of Regents office. This approach of singling out specific UH employees for termination has been attempted in prior Senate-proposed budgets, but given the magnitude of the Senate add-ons, it makes little financial sense to reduce approximately $2.4 million of funding for positions while also adding more than $274 million to the operating budget. Since the position cuts are not for financial reasons, this action can appear to be targeted and punitive in purpose. It is another area that we will be working to address before the session ends.
Capital improvement projects
For the capital improvement projects (CIP) budget, UH requested $89 million for FY23 in additional General Obligation Bonds to address capital renewal, progress on deferred maintenance and funding for projects to modernize each of the campuses within the UH System. HB 1600 HD1 SD2 includes $116 million for FY23 in General Obligation Bond funding for various projects. Coupled with the sizable approach of cash funding repair and maintenance work in the operating budget (approximately $180+ million), the Senate draft of the budget puts a lot of funding to facilities-related improvements.
The following table shows the CIP budget comparison between the board, governor, House and Senate:
| Description | BOR FY23 | Gov FY23 | House FY23 | Senate FY23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton Library | $6,000,000 | |||
| Central Admin Facility with Parking | $4,000,000 | |||
| Leeward CC Fascias | $6,500,000 | $6,500,000 | $6,500,000 | $6,500,000 |
| Waikīkī Aquarium Discharge System Upgrade | $11,500,000 | $11,500,000 | $11,500,000 | $5,750,000 |
| Renew, Improve Modernize (RIM) – Systemwide | $33,500,000 | $32,000,000 | $31,360,000 | |
| RIM – UH West Oʻahu | $2,500,000 | $2,500,000 | $2,500,000 | |
| Capital Renewal and Deferred Maintenance – UH Community Colleges | $25,000,000 | $24,000,000 | $25,000,000 | $24,000,000 |
| UH West Oʻahu Campus Expansion and University Village | $10,000,000 | $10,000,000 | $10,000,000 | |
| Hawaiʻi CC – Redevelopment of Manono Campus | $2,000,000 | |||
| Minor CIP – UH Community Colleges | $4,000,000 | |||
| UH Maui College – Vocational Technology Center | $4,000,000 | |||
| Makai Research Pier | $750,000 | |||
| Waiākea Research Station | $6,890,000 | |||
| Clarence TC Ching Athletics Complex | $18,400,000 | |||
| Les Murakami Baseball Stadium Turf Replacement | $2,000,000 | |||
| UH Mānoa Athletics-New Facilites at Lower Campus | $750,000 | |||
| Total | $89,000,000 | $86,500,000 | $55,000,000 | $116,900,000 |
Next steps
The next major deadline will be the final decking of bills on April 29. By this time, all bills must have concluded deliberation in conference committees of both the House and Senate. The Hawaiʻi State Legislature is scheduled to adjourn on May 5, 2022. Shortly thereafter, I will provide a recap of the 2022 legislative session.
General Fund Budget Table
| Description | BOR FY23 | Gov FY23 | House FY23 | Senate FY23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Fund Restoration – UH Mānoa | $30,000,000 | $30,000,000 | $30,000,000 | $30,000,000 |
| General Fund Restoration – JABSOM | $1,200,000 | $1,200,000 | $1,200,000 | $1,200,000 |
| General Fund Restoration – UH Hilo | $2,280,000 | $2,280,000 | $2,280,000 | $2,280,000 |
| General Fund Restoration – UH West Oʻahu | $1,080,000 | $1,080,000 | $1,080,000 | |
| General Fund Restoration – UH Community Colleges | $4,600,000 | $4,600,000 | $4,600,000 | $4,600,000 |
| General Fund Restoration – UH System Support | $3,391,232 | $3,391,232 | $3,391,232 | $3,391,232 |
| Athletics – UH Mānoa | $3,600,000 | $3,600,000 | $12,400,000 | $7,200,000 |
| Athletics – UH Hilo | $400,000 | $400,000 | $1,400,000 | $800,000 |
| PISCES – UH Hilo | $550,000 | $550,000 | $550,000 | $550,000 |
| Creative Media – UH West Oʻahu | $282,000 | $282,000 | $282,000 | |
| Nursing Clinical Instructors – UH Mānoa | $381,767 | $381,767 | $381,767 | |
| Nursing Clinical Instructors – UH Hilo | $532,150 | $532,150 | $532,150 | |
| Nursing Clinical Instructors – UH Community Colleges | $842,572 | $842,572 | $842,572 | |
| Residency Program Expansion – JABSOM | $2,040,000 | $1,880,000 | $3,340,000 | |
| Teacher Workforce Education – UH Mānoa | $557,097 | $557,097 | $557,097 | |
| IT and Cybersecurity Workforce – System Support | $1,575,000 | $1,575,000 | $1,575,000 | |
| Creative Media – UH Mānoa | $380,000 | $580,000 | $380,000 | |
| Aviation Program – UH Hilo | $190,000 | $190,000 | $190,000 | |
| Repairs, Maintenance and Equipment – Systemwide | $21,700,000 | $38,100,000 | ||
| Immersion School Teaching Pathway at ʻImiloa – UH Hilo | $2,889,496 | $1,200,496 | ||
| Food Innovation – UH Maui College | $146,000 | |||
| Culinary Institute of the Pacific – Kapiʻolani CC | $339,840 | |||
| Hawaiʻi Promise Expansion to UH Mānoa | $12,506,283 | |||
| Hawaiʻi Promise Expansion to UH Hilo | $1,773,450 | |||
| Hawaiʻi Promise Expansion to UH West Oʻahu | $5,080,639 | |||
| Hawaiʻi Promise – Additional Funds to UH Community Colleges | $4,800,000 | $4,800,000 | ||
| Mauna Kea Stewardship and Management – UH Hilo | $14,000,000 | |||
| Coastal Erosion (12 Asst. Prof., 10 GA) – UH Mānoa | $1,920,000 | |||
| Cyber Security and Digital Infrastructure – UH Mānoa | $40,000 | |||
| Renewable Energy and Power – UH Mānoa | $40,000 | |||
| Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology – UH Mānoa | $171,000 | |||
| CTAHR – Anthurium Research, Ornamental Breeding and Moving Costs – UH Mānoa | $418,000 | |||
| Ehukai Beach Park Study – UH Mānoa | $1,598,905 | |||
| Center for the Family – Homeless Data Clearance House – UH Mānoa | $300,000 | |||
| Sea Grant – UH Mānoa | $200,000 | |||
| Puna Traffic Studies – College of Engineering – UH Mānoa | $2,000,000 | |||
| Repave and Restripe Parking – Hawaiʻi CC | $2,000,000 | |||
| Repaint Buildings – Hawaiʻi CC | $1,000,000 | |||
| Recoat Roofs – Hawaiʻi CC | $1,000,000 | |||
| Repave and Restripe Parking – Honolulu CC | $4,000,000 | |||
| Repave and Restripe Parking – Kapiʻolani CC | $2,300,000 | |||
| Recoat Roofs – Kauaʻi CC | $1,600,000 | |||
| Repave – Kauaʻi CC | $300,000 | |||
| Reseal Building, Reroof – Leeward CC | $1,000,000 | |||
| Repave and Restripe Parking – Leeward CC | $3,500,000 | |||
| Refloor – Leeward CC | $300,000 | |||
| Replace Fencing – UH Maui College | $250,000 | |||
| Repaint Building – UH Maui College | $750,000 | |||
| Replace Fascia – UH Maui College | $750,000 | |||
| Resleeve Drain, Replace Downspouts – UH Maui College | $750,000 | |||
| Replace Walkway Columns – UH Maui College | $750,000 | |||
| Repave and Restripe Parking – Windward CC | $2,000,000 | |||
| Repaint Building – Windward CC | $3,000,000 | |||
| Repave Parking Lot – Hawaiʻi CC | $400,000 | |||
| Repaint Buildings – Hawaiʻi CC | $1,500,000 | |||
| Replace Irrigation System – Honolulu CC | $200,000 | |||
| Repaint Buildings – Honolulu CC | $2,500,000 | |||
| Replace Irrigation System – Kapiʻolani CC | $400,000 | |||
| Repaint Buildings – Kapiʻolani CC | $2,000,000 | |||
| Repaint Buildings – Kauaʻi CC | $2,000,000 | |||
| Repave Internal Road – Kauaʻi CC | $300,000 | |||
| Replace Irrigation System – Leeward CC | $200,000 | |||
| Repaint Buildings – Leeward CC | $2,500,000 | |||
| Replace Walkways – Leeward CC | $5,000,000 | |||
| Replace Irrigation System – UH Maui College | $200,000 | |||
| Refinish and Repaint Buildings – UH Maui College | $4,000,000 | |||
| Repaint Building – UH Maui College | $1,000,000 | |||
| Refinish and Repaint Building – Windward CC | $1,000,000 | |||
| Reroof Buildings – Windward CC | $3,000,000 | |||
| Support Services – UH Community Colleges | $553,566 | |||
| Nursing and Nursing Faculty – UH Community Colleges | $850,000 | |||
| 2 Temp Business Officers – Windward CC | $136,000 | |||
| Temp Geology Faculty – Windward CC | $70,000 | |||
| Temp Physics Faculty – Windward CC | $70,000 | |||
| Temp Office Assistant – Kauaʻi CC | $48,000 | |||
| 2 Temp Fiscal Officers – Kauaʻi CC | $136,000 | |||
| 2 Temp HR Specialists – Kauaʻi CC | $136,000 | |||
| 2 Temp Procurement Specialists – UH Maui College | $136,000 | |||
| Temp Enrollment Specialist – UH Maui College | $68,000 | |||
| Temp Recruiter – UH Maui College | $68,000 | |||
| Temp Instructional Designer – UH Maui College | $68,000 | |||
| Temp Media Specialist – UH Maui College | $68,000 | |||
| Holistic Student Support and Mental Health – UH Community Colleges | $1,000,000 | |||
| Nursing – Honolulu CC | $1,000,000 | |||
| Temp Counselor – Windward CC | $67,500 | |||
| International and Regional Partnership Program – UH Maui College | $110,000 | |||
| Value Added Product Development Center – Perm Food Scientist – Leeward CC | $90,000 | |||
| Value Added Product Development Center – Perm Admin and Fiscal Support – Leeward CC | $46,000 | |||
| Value Added Product Development Center – 2 Perm Security Officers – Leeward CC | $85,050 | |||
| Value Added Product Development Center – 2 Perm Custodians – Leeward CC | $91,880 | |||
| Value Added Product Development Center – Perm Microbiologist – Leeward CC | $70,000 | |||
| Value Added Product Development Center – Perm High Pressure Processing Manager – Leeward CC | $70,000 | |||
| Value Added Product Development Center – Perm Chemist – Leeward CC | $70,000 | |||
| Value Added Product Development Center – Utilities – Leeward CC | $544,200 | |||
| Value Added Product Development Center – Contract Janitors and Groundskeepers – Leeward CC | $326,400 | |||
| Value Added Product Development Center – Materials and Supplies – Leeward CC | $20,000 | |||
| Value Added Product Development Center – Travel Expenses – Leeward CC | $20,000 | |||
| Value Added Product Development Center – Equipment Maintenance and Support – Leeward CC | $84,000 | |||
| Value Added Product Development Center – Rational iCombi Pro Oven – Leeward CC | $15,000 | |||
| Value Added Product Development Center – Tenney Luminaire “Free-standing” Shelf Life Chamber – Leeward CC | $25,000 | |||
| Value Added Product Development Center – Vacuum Sealer P200 – Leeward CC | $5,000 | |||
| Value Added Product Development Center – Water Activity Meter – Leeward CC | $10,200 | |||
| Validation Lab – Supplies and Equipment – Leeward CC | $223,894 | |||
| Food Innovation Center – Utilities – UH Maui College | $48,000 | |||
| Food Innovation Center – R&D Classroom Labs Maintenance – UH Maui College | $20,000 | |||
| Food Innovation Center – Facilities and Equipment Maintenance – UH Maui College | $78,000 | |||
| Culinary Institute of the Pacific – 3 Temp Groundskeepers – Kapiʻolani CC | $120,000 | |||
| Culinary Institute of the Pacific – Temp Custodian – Kapiʻolani CC | $38,000 | |||
| Culinary Institute of the Pacific – Temp Spec Equipment Maintenance – Kapiʻolani CC | $55,000 | |||
| Culinary Institute of the Pacific – 2 Temp Security Officers – Kapiʻolani CC | $90,000 | |||
| Culinary Institute of the Pacific – Temp Restaurant Manager – Kapiʻolani CC | $150,000 | |||
| Early College – 10 Temp Counselors – UH Community Colleges | $900,000 | |||
| Early College – 10 Temp Campus Coordinators – UH Community Colleges | $750,000 | |||
| Early College – Student Help – UH Community Colleges | $1,000,000 | |||
| Student Basic Needs – 5 Temp Island Coordinators – UH Community Colleges | $260,000 | |||
| Student Basic Needs – Student Help – UH Community Colleges | $100,000 | |||
| Student Basic Needs – Supplies – UH Community Colleges | $25,000 | |||
| Learn and Earn – UH Community Colleges | $645,134 | |||
| Non-Credit Workforce Development Programs – Temp Program Manager – UH Community Colleges | $90,396 | |||
| Non-Credit Workforce Development Programs – 6 Temp Educational Specialists – UH Community Colleges | $453,888 | |||
| Non-Credit Workforce Development Programs – Temp IT Specialist – UH Community Colleges | $75,648 | |||
| Non-Credit Workforce Development Programs – Subsidy for Instructor – UH Community Colleges | $672,000 | |||
| Non-Credit Workforce Development Programs – Student Information System – UH Community Colleges | $248,068 | |||
| 31 Permanent Security Officers – UH Community Colleges | $1,274,100 | |||
| Kairos Buyout – UH Community Colleges | $10,918,918 | |||
| PV System – Honolulu CC | $14,026,106 | |||
| 2 Temp Program Managers – UH Community Colleges | $167,064 | |||
| Temp CIP Fiscal Support Specialist – UH Community Colleges | $80,268 | |||
| Baseball Batting Cage Repairs – UH Mānoa | $3,000,000 | |||
| Library Condensation Mitigation – UH West Oʻahu | $3,000,000 | |||
| CTAHR Kona Reseach Station Repairs – UH Mānoa | $2,500,000 | |||
| Parking Structure Repairs – UH Mānoa | $3,000,000 | |||
| Retro-Commissioning of Various System Operations and Controls – UH Mānoa | $2,500,000 | |||
| Various Mechanical System R&M – UH Mānoa | $3,000,000 | |||
| Various Electrical System R&M – UH Mānoa | $2,000,000 | |||
| Various Site R&M – UH Mānoa | $3,000,000 | |||
| Various Building Envelope R&M – UH Mānoa | $3,000,000 | |||
| Batting Cage Repair – UH Mānoa | $1,000,000 | |||
| Demolition PBS Building – UH Mānoa | $2,900,000 | |||
| Waikīkī Aquarium – Repair Rails and Spalls – UH Mānoa | $500,000 | |||
| Parking Structure – Remove Planters and Repair Expansion Joint – UH Mānoa | $5,000,000 | |||
| Equipment – Garbage Truck, Excavator, Fire Safety and Various Shop Equipment – UH Mānoa | $1,300,000 | |||
| Bilger Hall Lab Renovations – UH Mānoa | $2,500,000 | |||
| Elevator Repairs – UH Mānoa | $1,500,000 | |||
| Roofing Improvements for Various Buildings – UH Mānoa | $3,000,000 | |||
| Building Interior Improvements – UH Mānoa | $400,000 | |||
| Central Plant Improvements – UH Mānoa | $950,000 | |||
| Electrical Improvements – UH Mānoa | $575,000 | |||
| Interior Mechanical Improvements – UH Mānoa | $1,400,000 | |||
| Site/Infrastructure Improvements – UH Mānoa | $350,000 | |||
| Inspection Services – UH Mānoa | $325,000 | |||
| Ching Complex NCAA Expansion – UH Mānoa | $7,300,000 | |||
| Acquire/Construct Facilties and Connections for Broadband – UH System Support | $10,000,000 | |||
| Engineering and Project Management for Broadband – UH System Support | $6,000,000 | |||
| Support for Equipping Community Hub Locations for Broadband – UH System Support | $5,000,000 | |||
| Establishment and Support for Broadband Adoption Programs – UH System Support | $12,333,334 | |||
| Community Design Center – Waikīkī Adaptation and Resilience Plan – UH Mānoa | $800,000 | |||
| Community Design Center – Hoʻokaulike Prison Reform – UH Mānoa | $800,000 | |||
| Community Design Center – Statewide Cultural Heritage Studies – UH Mānoa | $800,000 | |||
| Community Design Center – Spectrum of Housing for Hawaiʻi Study – UH Mānoa | $800,000 | |||
| Community Design Center – Statewide Centralized Kitchen for Farm to School – UH Mānoa | $800,000 | |||
| Community Design Center – DOE Schools Campus Master Plan – UH Mānoa | $1,000,000 | |||
| Perm Procurement Director – UH System Support | $125,000 | |||
| Demolition of Makai Research Pier – UH System Support | $750,000 | |||
| Office of VP for Research and Innovation – UH System Support | $9,500,000 | |||
| Reduce positions and funds – UH Mānoa | ($564,987) | |||
| Reduce positions and funds – UH Hilo | ($864,093) | |||
| Reduce positions and funds – UH West Oʻahu | ($191,461) | |||
| Reduce positions and funds – UH System Support | ($839,040) | |||
| Total | $47,383,232 | $75,581,818 | $129,357,526 | $274,874,252 |
