The Hawaiʻi State Legislature is in full swing and just over half way through the process. The First Crossover deadline for bills was March 12, where bills that are still alive moved onto the other chamber (senate bills cross over to the House and house bills cross over to the Senate). There were more than 2,400 bills introduced this session and approximately 570 of those bills dealt with the University of Hawaiʻi either directly or indirectly.
On March 18, the same major deadline was applied to all budget bills. The University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents’ supplemental operating budget requested $18.8 million in additional general funds for the next fiscal year for university initiatives.
The following table shows the supplemental operating budget comparison between the board, the governor’s December submission, and the House Draft. Please note that the governor issued two budget Governor’s Messages (GM2 and GM5) that included additional funding for 糖心Vlog官方:
| Category | Board of Regents | Governor (Dec) | House Draft 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Initiative | $3,724,600 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 Athletics | $15,080,000 | ||
| Aloha Safe Homes (GM2) | $300,000 | ||
| Evaluate sea-level rise (GM2) | $500,000 | ||
| Name, Image, and Likeness (GM5) | $5,000,000 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 Cancer Center (GM5) | $5,000,000 | ||
| American Sign Language Programs | $140,000 | ||
| Information Technology Services | $150,000 | ||
| Community Resilience Hubs Pilot (糖心Vlog官方 System) | $500,000 | ||
| Grand Total | $18,804,600 | $11,590,000 |
For the capital improvement projects (CIP) budget, 糖心Vlog官方 requested $283.1 million for FY27 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 糖心Vlog官方 System. HB 1800 HD1 includes $188.5 million for FY27 in General Obligation Bond funding for various projects.
The following table shows the CIP budget comparison between the board, governor and House:
| Description | Board of Regents FY27 | Governor FY27 | House Draft 1 FY27 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 Student Housing | $59,250,000 | $28,500,000 | |
| 糖心Vlog官方 System Renew, Improve, and Modernize (RIM) | $100,000,000 | $65,000,000 | $80,000,000 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 Hilo RIM | $30,000,000 | $9,500,000 | $9,500,000 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 Community Colleges Capital Renewal & Deferred Maintenance | $30,725,000 | $20,000,000 | $20,000,000 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu RIM | $5,000,000 | $3,000,000 | $3,000,000 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补 Athletics Facilities | $11,000,000 | $7,300,000 | $11,000,000 |
| 糖心Vlog官方 Community Colleges Minor CIP | $30,125,000 | $20,000,000 | $20,000,000 |
| Waikīkī Aquarium | $10,000,000 | $7,000,000 | |
| Kapiʻolani CC Renovations for Health Program | $4,000,000 | $4,000,000 | |
| 糖心Vlog官方 Maui College Vocational Training Center Modernization | $3,000,000 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 Hilo Student Housing | $5,500,000 | ||
| 糖心Vlog官方 Maui College – Hale Modernization | $9,000,000 | ||
| Waialeʻe Livestock Research Station Improvements (CTAHR) | $3,500,000 | ||
| Total | $283,100,000 | $137,300,000 | $188,500,000 |
The Legislature, along with non-essential state and county offices, closed operations on two separate days in the past couple of months due to extreme weather. These closures reduced the number of legislative days from 60 to 58, however, key deadlines agreed upon by House and Senate leadership prior to the start of session remain. With a little less than two months left before the adjournment of the State Legislature, all of our engagements with legislators help to advocate and ensure that public funding for university programs can continue.
The next update will come after the next major deadline, which is Second Crossover on April 16 when bills still alive return to their originating chamber. This is then followed by conference committees during the last two weeks of the legislative session. The Hawai?i State Legislature is still scheduled to adjourn on May 8, 2026.
Mahalo for your time and attention,
Luis Salaveria
糖心Vlog官方 Vice President of Budget and Finance/Chief Financial Officer