Posted on: Tuesday, July 15, 2003

ISLAND VOICES
Rainy-day funds can save state money

By Judy Sobin
Executive director of Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii

Cutting 100 percent of the state's funding for Na Keiki Law Center, a project of Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii, is not just a sad story and a blow to children and families, it has a direct impact on the state's bottom line. Using the rainy-day fund as in SB 1305 to fund a portion of Na Keiki Law Center will boost the state's treasury now and into the future.

I believe Gov. Linda Lingle was not given all the information she needed to make an informed decision when she zeroed out funding for Na Keiki Law Center. This is not a new initiative. The state will pay a great deal more than the $200,000 in SB 1305 if the governor does not release this funding.

Within the last year, the center saved the state conservatively more than $600,000 in foster-care costs. These numbers do not take into consideration the staff time for Child Protective Services, the attorney general and the judiciary had these children entered the foster-care system.

While attempts were made to get information to the governor prior to her veto, she probably did not have adequate time to review materials that would have assisted her in realizing the cost benefits to the state in preserving funding for Na Keiki Law Center.

Gov. Lingle now has another shot at reviewing programs in SB 1305 with the legislative override and can again release funding for Na Keiki Law Center and the other programs. The governor can then choose how much money, if any, to release and when.

Some who voted for SB 1305 but who were hesitant to override the line-item vetoes believe our governor will surely refuse to release any funds for those programs that were zeroed out. I am confident the governor will take the opportunity to review the merits of each program after taking the additional time to gather the facts.

Overriding the line-item vetoes of SB 1305 is not a slight to the governor; rather it opens an opportunity, at least in the case of Na Keiki Law Center, for the governor to save the state money, while maintaining a safety net for children.