Senate rejects tapping hurricane relief fund

By Lynda Arakawa and Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

The Senate yesterday rejected a proposal to use money from the Hawai'i Hurricane Relief Fund, leaving the Legislature with a $55 million hole in the state budget.

"Currently, the financial plan that I proposed is out of balance," he said. "We're in the negative."

The Senate sent the hurricane fund bill — House Bill 2654 — back to the Ways and Means Committee, shelving the bill for the session. But lawmakers will still have another opportunity to revisit the issue in conference committee because a measure that would take $100 million from the fund is still alive in the House.

The Senate later gave preliminary approval to a proposal touted as an alternative to using the hurricane fund. The Senate amended House Bill 2827 to require Gov. Ben Cayetano's administration to return to the general fund excess money in accounts originally set up to pay for various service contracts.

Sen. Donna Kim, who introduced the amendment, said such general fund accounts — stretching from 1987 to 2000 — amount to more than $20 million, and that the 2001 account has more than $180 million in money that is unspent but has been committed for various contracts.

Kim said state Department of Accounting and General Services officials indicated there may be enough money available to replace the partial use of the hurricane fund.

Presumably that money is earmarked for other purposes, and it was unclear last night what impact seizing that money might have on other state programs and services. House staff members said an initial review suggested the Senate may have greatly overestimated how much money is available, although House leaders said they planned to study the proposal.