Posted on: Thursday, May 29, 2003

Lingle to weigh uses for $81 million in federal tax-cut-bill money

Advertiser Staff

Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday said she has no plans yet for the nearly $81 million Hawai'i is estimated to receive through the tax-cut bill President Bush signed.

The $81 million includes about $31 million for the state Medicaid program; the remaining $50 million may be spent as the state wishes.

"President Bush's economic stimulus package included a variety of components, and this was one of them, but we'll have to look at it specifically to determine exactly what will come to Hawai'i," Lingle said. "As we know, the Council on Revenues' projections have been ratcheted downwards several times throughout the year and we're going to need to take a wait-and-see attitude ... on any sort of new spending.

"We need to be very cautious about any expansion of an existing program or the beginning of a new program but recognize that this is an opportunity for the state to maintain fiscal integrity over the next two years ... and it's something that I'll be discussing with my directors as well as with legislators."