Session workers for the state House of Representatives received their paychecks yesterday afternoon, but many were miffed that lawmakers did not finish the expense budget sooner to avoid partially missing payroll on Friday.

Gov. Linda Lingle signed the budget on Saturday, and it was sent back to the House yesterday, allowing the House sergeant-at-arms to deliver belated first paychecks to 224 workers who started their jobs in early January.

"It was unfortunate," said House Vice Speaker K. Mark Takai, D-34th (Pearl City, Newtown, Royal Summit), who said he offered to help anyone on his staff who had financial trouble because of the missed payday. "I think one of the things we can do next time is better inform staff about these possibilities."

Patricia Mau-Shimizu, the chief clerk in the House, said session workers are warned that first paychecks can be delayed if the House and Senate do not approve the session's expense budget on time. Although it rarely happens, paychecks have been delayed in the past. The clerk sent a memo on Thursday suggesting paychecks may not be ready until late Friday.

One young aide, who asked not to be identified because he did not want to jeopardize his job, said he took the memo to mean he would get paid Friday, and told his roommate to give his rent check to their landlord. The check bounced, he said.

"I'm totally upset. My account is in a negative balance," he said.

The aide and several other session workers interviewed said they also are upset that no one in the House or Senate leadership had publicly offered an apology.

House Majority Leader Marcus Oshiro, D-39th (Wahiawa), agreed that apologies are warranted. "They all work hard. They sacrifice," he said.

The House approved the budget last Monday and sent it to the Senate. Senators decided to amend the budget — a move veteran staffers described as rare — so it was not approved by the Senate until Thursday. The House agreed to the changes on Friday and sent it to Lingle for her signature, but the governor had already left for previously scheduled events on Maui.

If the budget had not been amended by the Senate, it could have reached Lingle as early as Wednesday, according to the House and Senate clerks.

The Senate had enough money in reserve to pay its session workers, but the House, which has twice as many lawmakers and more staff, did not have enough to cover payroll. Permanent, year-round staff were paid on time because their salaries are separate from the expense budget.

Senate Vice President Donna Mercado Kim, D-14th (Halawa, Moanalua, Kamehameha Heights), said the amendment removed $340,000 in expenses she did not believe were justified. Kim had been in lengthy exchanges with the Senate clerk's office over Senate finances over the past several weeks.

Kim said it was unfair for Senate Minority Leader Fred Hemmings, R-25th (Kailua, Waimanalo, Hawai'i Kai), or others to blame her for the delay. She said Hemmings was being hypocritical because he had voted against the budget last week and had suggested that the governor veto the budget, which would have delayed paychecks even longer.

Hemmings said the budget was discriminatory because Republican staff were not paid as much as Democratic staff. But he said the delay was caused by Kim's revisions, not his concerns.

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.