Kalbert Young, UH vice president for budget and finance and chief financial officer, provides a breakdown of the state budget approved by lawmakers at the end of the 2023 legislative session.
On May 4, the 2023 legislative regular session ended, and the biennial budget (two-year cycle) for the State of Hawaiʻi (HB 300 CD1) was sent to Gov. Josh Green. The governor has until July 11 to sign, veto or allow bills to become law without his signature.
The operating and capital improvement projects (CIP) budget appropriations for the University of Hawaiʻi 10-campus system were significantly less than what was requested by the UH Board of Regents and the governor. The amount of funding for the first year of the biennial budget next year, fiscal year 2023–24 (FY24), should be sufficient to maintain current levels of operations. Sustained funding and funding for the full biennium will need to be addressed in the 2024 legislative session.
Operating budget overview
The top priority for the operating budget for the 2023 legislative session was the restoration of state general fund support to pre-pandemic levels. The Legislature only restored the funding the first year of the biennium (FY24) and not the second year (FY25). Other top-priority initiatives were not included in the final budget including addressing the healthcare workforce shortage and the expansion of the Hawaiʻi Promise Program to the four-year campuses.
There was additional funding provided as part of the UH request for continued funding of the existing UH Community College Hawaiʻi Promise Program and for UH Mānoa and UH Hilo athletics, but only in the first year of the next biennium.
The operating budget table (at the bottom of the online story) compares the UH items funded by the Legislature and what was requested by the Board of Regents.
Capital improvement projects budget overview
The capital improvement projects (CIP) portion of the state budget for UH was also lower than requested. A number of renovation projects to address deferred maintenance, specifically Renew, Improve and Modernize (RIM) projects, will have to be delayed, at least for the first year of the biennium budget. The university is reprioritizing projects now based on the limited funding.
UH requested a total of $558 million ($262.5 million for FY24 and $296 million for FY25) to address capital renewal, progress on deferred maintenance and funding for projects to modernize each of the campuses within the UH System.
The Legislature appropriated a total of $384 million for the biennium budget. Of that amount, $63 million is for a prototype artificial reef project that the university did not request funding for. The Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology project is just underway and will take time to scale up.
The remaining $321 million in CIP funding is disproportionately designated among the 10 campuses, similar to the budget the Senate passed in April. The UH Community Colleges account for 60% of that amount ($193.8 million), while the seven community colleges make up 22% of UH’s total gross square footage.
Funding to increase the seating capacity at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex on UH Mānoa campus was not included in the budget. Without this support, the university will have to look at other funding alternatives to increase capacity required for a Division I football program. The university is in the process of expanding seating from 9,000 to 15,000 seats by the start of the 2023 football season after the sudden closure of Aloha Stadium in December 2020.
The CIP budget table (at the bottom of the online story) compares the funding the Legislature provided for CIP projects and what was requested by the Board of Regents.
The University of Hawaiʻi is appreciative to the governor and the Legislature for the funding provided in the budget. The UH administration is now reviewing all bills from multiple perspectives and assessing the go-forward options and impacts on the university. Of the 274 bills passed by the Legislature, approximately 64 of them may have some impact, interest, effect and/or concern to UH.
Operating budget table
| Campus | Description | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | CD1 | ||||
| FY24 | FY25 | FY24 | FY25 | ||
| RESTORATION OF FUNDS | |||||
| UH Mānoa | General Fund Restoration | $5,600,000 | $5,600,000 | $5,600,000 | |
| JABSOM | General Fund Restoration | $1,800,000 | $1,800,000 | $1,800,000 | |
| UH Hilo | General Fund Restoration | $3,420,000 | $3,420,000 | $3,420,000 | |
| UH West Oʻahu | General Fund Restoration | $1,620,000 | $1,620,000 | $1,620,000 | |
| UH System | General Fund Restoration | $5,086,848 | $5,086,848 | $5,086,848 | |
| SUSTAINED FUNDING | |||||
| UH Mānoa | Athletics Subsidy Continuation | $3,200,000 | $3,200,000 | $3,200,000 | |
| UH Hilo | Athletics Subsidy Continuation | $400,000 | $400,000 | $400,000 | |
| UH Mānoa | HIMB Full Year Funding | $85,500 | $85,500 | $85,500 | $85,500 |
| JABSOM | GME Residency Full Year Funding | $1,670,000 | $1,670,000 | $660,000 | $660,000 |
| JABSOM Neighbor Island MD Expansion Continuation | General Fund Restoration | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | ||
| HAWAIʻI PROMISE PROGRAM | |||||
| UH Mānoa | Hawaiʻi Promise Expansion | $12,300,000 | $12,300,000 | ||
| UH Hilo | Hawaiʻi Promise Expansion | $1,700,000 | $1,700,000 | ||
| UH West Oʻahu | Hawaiʻi Promise Expansion | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 | ||
| UH Community Colleges | Hawaiʻi Promise Continuation | $3,700,000 | $3,700,000 | $3,700,000 | |
| CAMPUS FACILITIES AND CORE SERVICES | |||||
| UH Hilo | Security Officers | $313,320 | $313,320 | ||
| UH West Oʻahu | Security Officers | $30,900 | $61,800 | ||
| UH Community Colleges | Security Officers | $693,780 | $1,456,938 | $693,780 | $1,456,938 |
| UH Hilo | IT Support | $160,000 | $160,000 | ||
| UH Hilo | Analytical Lab Manager | $80,000 | $80,000 | ||
| UH West Oʻahu | Campus and ACM Support | $162,996 | $325,992 | ||
| EARLY COLLEGE EXPANSION | |||||
| UH Community Colleges | Early College Expansion | $577,500 | $1,212,750 | $84,167 | $174,750 |
| UH West Oʻahu | Early College Expansion | $90,000 | $180,000 | ||
| UH System | Early College Expansion | $90,000 | $180,000 | ||
| INITIATIVE: SUPPORT STUDENT SUCCESS | |||||
| UH West Oʻahu | Student Success Support | $261,252 | $522,504 | ||
| UH Community Colleges | UH Maui College-Health Center | $98,500 | $200,250 | $98,500 | $200,250 |
| UH Community Colleges | UH Maui College-Distance Learning | $73,500 | $147,750 | ||
| UH Mānoa | Kūlia I Ka Nuʻu Undergraduate Research Initiative | $721,600 | $1,058,400 | ||
| UH Hilo | Transfer Center | $60,000 | $60,000 | ||
| UH Hilo | Career Advising and Internship Admin | $60,000 | $60,000 | ||
| UH Community Colleges | Windward CC-Incarcerated Students | $125,500 | $241,550 | ||
| UH Community Colleges | Hawaiʻi CC-Incarcerated Students | $37,500 | $78,750 | ADDRESS AREAS OF STATE NEED | |
| UH Hilo | Administration of Justice Program Expansion | $142,000 | $142,000 | ||
| UH Hilo | MA Teaching Expansion and Kahuawaiola Indigenous Teacher Education | $210,000 | $210,000 | ||
| UH Hilo | MA Counseling Psychology | $210,000 | $210,000 | ||
| UH Hilo | CAFNRM Sustainable Agribusiness | $100,000 | $100,000 | ||
| UH West Oʻahu | Teacher Preparation | $70,676 | $141,352 | ||
| INDUSTRY INITIATIVE: HEALTH | |||||
| UH West Oʻahu | Health and Wellness | $147,158 | $294,316 | ||
| UH Mānoa | Health Science Initiative | $477,009 | $688,473 | ||
| UH Community Colleges | Kapiʻolani CC-Allied Health Professions and NI Expansion | $761,000 | $761,000 | ||
| UH Community Colleges | Windward CC–CNA Program Support | $86,000 | $86,000 | ||
| UH Community Colleges | Kauaʻi CC-Medical Assisting Program Support | $232,000 | $232,000 | ||
| UH Community Colleges | Kapiʻolani CC-Nursing Clinical Faculty | $259,998 | $259,998 | ||
| UH Community Colleges | Hawaiʻi CC-Nursing Program Maintenance and Expansion | $474,000 | $474,000 | ||
| UH Community Colleges | Kauaʻi CC-Nursing Faculty | $258,000 | $258,000 | ||
| UH Community Colleges | UH Maui College-Nursing Faculty | $172,000 | $172,000 | ||
| UH Community Colleges | UH Maui College-CNA to LPN Program Support | $86,000 | $86,000 | ||
| UH Mānoa | UH West Oʻahu–UH Mānoa Nursing Collaboration | $503,000 | $503,000 | ||
| UH Mānoa | NAWSON Programs and Training Support | $661,430 | $661,430 | ||
| UH Hilo | Nursing Faculty Support | $198,000 | $198,000 | ||
| UH Mānoa | Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health-Training Hubs | $228,500 | $457,000 | ||
| LEGISLATIVE ADD-ONS | |||||
| UH Community Colleges | Office of International and Regional Partnerships Study Abroad Program | $15,000 | |||
| UH Community Colleges | Non-Credit Workforce Development | $578,240 | $578,240 | ||
| UH System | GIA-Friends of Ka Leo Hawaiʻi Media (not in worksheets) | $300,000 | |||
| UH Mānoa | Astronomy Engineering and Instrumentation | $1,900,000 | $1,900,000 | ||
| Total | $56,266,967 | $59,399,921 | $29,470,535 | $5,512,678 | |
CIP budget table
| Campus | Description | MOF | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board | Legislature | |||||
| FY24 | FY25 | FY24 | FY25 | |||
| UH System | Renew, Improve and Modernize | C | $100,000,000 | $100,000,000 | ||
| UH System | Renew, Improve and Modernize | A | $30,000,000 | $30,000,000 | ||
| UH Hilo | Renew, Improve and Modernize | C | $17,500,000 | $26,500,000 | $8,500,000 | $4,800,000 |
| UH Hilo | Renew, Improve and Modernize | A | $6,000,000 | $16,200,000 | ||
| UH Community Colleges | Renew, Improve and Modernize | C | $25,000,000 | $25,000,000 | ||
| UH Community Colleges | Renew, Improve and Modernize | A | $25,000,000 | $25,000,000 | ||
| UH West Oʻahu | Renew, Improve and Modernize | C | $5,000,000 | $3,500,000 | ||
| UH Mānoa | PV Rooftop and Canopies and Various Energy Efficiency Projects | C | $20,000,000 | $20,000,000 | ||
| UH Community Colleges | Minor CIP | C | $25,000,000 | $25,000,000 | ||
| UH Community Colleges | Minor CIP | A | $25,000,000 | $25,000,000 | ||
| UH Mānoa | Assessment and Feasibility of Hamilton Library | C | $6,500,000 | |||
| UH West Oʻahu | Road B Entry Plaza | C | $5,500,000 | |||
| UH Community Colleges | Kapioʻolani CC-Replace AC System (6930 Ohelo) | C | $15,000,000 | $15,000,000 | ||
| UH Community Colleges | Kauaʻi CC-Upgrade Fire Alarm System | C | $8,500,000 | |||
| UH Mānoa | Mini Master Plan Phase 3-Kuykendall Hall | C | $5,000,000 | |||
| UH West Oʻahu | Campus Center Phase II | C | $49,000,000 | |||
| UH Community Colleges | Windward CC-Repair/Replace HVAC (5988 ʻImiloa) | C | $11,000,000 | $11,000,000 | ||
| UH Mānoa | Athletics | C | $12,000,000 | $18,000,000 | $14,000,000 | |
| UH Mānoa | Athletics | A | $4,500,000 | |||
| UH Community Colleges | Kapioʻolani CC-Renovate Building (6920 Kokiʻo) | C | $2,000,000 | $10,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $10,000,000 |
| UH Mānoa | Administrative Office and Parking | C | $8,000,000 | UH Community Colleges | Honolulu CC-Technology Renovations Phase 2 | C | $3,000,000 | $3,000,000 |
| UH Mānoa | Holmes Hall | C | $1,500,000 | $6,000,000 | $1,500,000 | UH Community Colleges | Hawaiʻi CC-Manono Campus Development | C | $2,000,000 |
| UH Mānoa | Waikīkī Aquarium Seawall Repair | C | $3,000,000 | |||
| UH Mānoa | HIMB-Continue DARPA Prototype Artificial Reef | C | $63,517,000 | |||
| UH Mānoa | HIMB-Replacement of Sewage System, Seawall and Pier | C | $4,250,000 | |||
| UH Mānoa | HIMB-Replacement of Sewage System, Seawall and Pier | A | $750,000 | $5,000,000 | ||
| UH Community Colleges | Waiākea Research Station | C | $2,625,000 | |||
| UH Community Colleges | Kauaʻi CC–PV Rooftops/Canopies | C | $15,000,000 | |||
| UH Community Colleges | Kauaʻi CC-Student Dorms and Faculty/Staff Housing | A | $250,000 | |||
| UH Community Colleges | Various Repairs and Deferred Maintenance | C | $35,000,000 | |||
| UH Hilo | Hawaiʻi Astronomy Engineering and Instrument Development Hub | C | $2,000,000 | |||
| Total | $262,500,000 | $296,000,000 | $202,375,000 | $182,517,000 | ||
