STATE OF HAWAII DAVID Y. IGE OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR CATHERINE P. AWAKUNI COLÓN DIRECTOR GOVERNOR DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS JOSH GREEN JO ANN M. UCHIDA TAKEUCHI 335 MERCHANT STREET, ROOM 310 DEPUTY DIRECTOR LT. GOVERNOR P.O. BOX 541 HONOLULU, HAWAII 96809 Phone Number: 586-2850 Fax Number: 586-2856 cca.hawaii.gov Testimony of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Before the House Committee on Finance Wednesday, March 17, 2021 2:00 p.m. Via Videoconference On the following measure: H.B. 200, RELATING TO THE STATE BUDGET Chair Luke and Members of the Committee: My name is Catherine Awakuni Colón, and I am the Director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA or Department). The Department supports this bill, which appropriates funds for the operating and capital improvement budget of the Executive Branch for fiscal years 2021 – 2022 and 2022 – 2023. For the Committee’s information, the relevant program appropriations for the DCCA are on pages 48 and 49 of this measure. Thank you for the opportunity to testify on this bill. DAVID Y. IGE GOVERNOR GWEN S. YAMAMOTO LAU EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HAWAII GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AUTHORITY No. 1 Capitol District Building, 250 South Hotel Street, Suite 501, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 Telephone: (808) 587-3868 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2359, Honolulu, Hawaii 96804 Fax: (808) 587-3896 Web site: gems.hawaii.gov Testimony of Gwen Yamamoto Lau Executive Director Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority before the HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE Wednesday, March 17, 2021 2:00 P.M. State Capitol, Conference Room 308 & Videoconference in consideration of HOUSE BILL NO. 200 RELATING TO THE STATE BUDGET Chair Luke, Vice Chair Cullen and Members of the Committee on Finance: Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of House Bill 200, which appropriates funds for the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority’s (“HGIA”) (BED 138) lending ceiling, bond ceiling and operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year. This will allow HGIA to continue its green infrastructure financing programs and assist underserved ratepayers in lowering their energy costs. Thank you for this opportunity to testify in support of HB 200. DAVID Y. IGE MAX N. OTANI GOVERNOR DIRECTOR Maria C. Cook Deputy Director Administration Tommy Johnson STATE OF HAWAII Deputy Director Corrections DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY 919 Ala Moana Boulevard, 4th Floor Jordan Lowe Deputy Director Honolulu, Hawaii 96814 Law Enforcement No. TESTIMONY ON HOUSE BILL 200 RELATING TO STATE FUNDS. by Max N. Otani, Director House Committee on Finance Representative Sylvia Luke, Chair Representative Ty J.K. Cullen, Vice Chair Wednesday, March 17, 2021, 2:00 p.m. State Capitol, Conference Room 308 Via VideoConferencing Chair Luke, Vice Chair Cullen, and Members of the Committee: The Department of Public Safety (PSD) supports House Bill (HB) 200, which appropriates funding for the fiscal biennium 2021-2023 for operating budget and capital improvement program (CIP). Specifically for PSD, the bill appropriates the following for the operating budget: FY 2022: 2,743.60 permanent positions and 46.0 temporary positions $300,204,917 for all means of funding FY 2023: 2,743.60 permanent positions and 46.0 temporary positions $298,867,052 for all means of funding And for CIP, $88,968,000 for fiscal year 2021-2022 and $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2022-2023. Thank you for the opportunity to present this testimony. "An Equal Opportunity Employer/Agency" DAVID Y. IGE CRAIG K. HIRAI GOVERNOR DIRECTOR ROBERT YU DEPUTY DIRECTOR STATE OF HAWAII ADMINISTRATIVE AND RESEARCH OFFICE EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM DEPARTMENT OF BUDGET AND FINANCE BUDGET, PROGRAM PLANNING AND HAWAII EMPLOYER-UNION HEALTH BENEFITS TRUST FUND MANAGEMENT DIVISION OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC DEFENDER P.O. BOX 150 FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION DIVISION HONOLULU, HAWAII 96810-0150 OFFICE OF FEDERAL AWARDS MANAGEMENT (OFAM) TESTIMONY BY CRAIG K. HIRAI DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF BUDGET AND FINANCE TO THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 200 March 17, 2021 2:00 p.m. Via Videoconference RELATING TO THE STATE BUDGET The Department of Budget and Finance supports House Bill (H.B.) No. 200. H.B. No. 200 appropriates funds for the Executive Branch’s operating and capital improvement program (CIP) budget for FB 2021-23. This General Appropriations bill is in the format required pursuant to Section 37-71(b)(4), HRS, which prescribes that the information provided in the budget be formatted such that program costs include all costs, including research and development, operating and capital, regardless of the means of financing. Section 37-71(c)(3), HRS, also requires a summary listing of all CIP projects by program, at the lowest level of the program structure, which shows for each project, by capital investment cost elements, the amount of new appropriations and authorizations proposed. Under Section 37-62, Definitions, HRS, “cost elements” means the major subdivisions of a cost category. The category “capital investment” includes plans, land acquisition, design, construction, and equipment and furnishing. No. 1 Capitol District Building, 250 S. Hotel Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 -2- The format of H.B. No. 200, which includes both operating and CIP appropriations and CIP project authorizations by cost element, meets the statutory requirements and, as a single bill, makes the State budget easier to implement. In addition, the inclusion of CIP appropriations by cost element will allow the appropriations to be input as required into the State’s CIP budget system. Thank you for your consideration of our comments. DAVID Y. IGE LAUREN MORIGUCHI GOVERNOR DIRECTOR STATE OF HAWAI’I Executive Office on Early Learning 2759 South King Street HONOLULU, HAWAI’I 96826 March 16, 2021 TO: Representative Sylvia Luke, Chair Representative Ty J.K. Cullen, Vice Chair House Committee on Finance FROM: Lauren Moriguchi, Director Executive Office on Early Learning SUBJECT: Measure: H.B. No. 200 Hearing Date: Wednesday March 17, 2021 Time: 2:00pm Location: Videoconference Bill Description: RELATING TO THE STATE BUDGET – Appropriates funds for the operating and capital improvement budget of the Executive Branch for fiscal years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. EXECUTIVE OFFICE ON EARLY LEARNING’S POSITION: Supports with Comments Good afternoon. I am Lauren Moriguchi, Director of the Executive Office on Early Learning (EOEL). EOEL respectfully requests your consideration of funding for EDN700, EOEL’s program ID, as contained in the FY 2021-2023 Executive Biennium Budget, approved by our governing board, the Early Learning Board. We thank the Legislature for its support of EOEL’s work to increase access to high-quality early learning. EOEL is statutorily responsible for the development of the State’s early childhood system that shall ensure a spectrum of high-quality development and learning opportunities for children throughout the state, from prenatal care until the time they enter kindergarten, with priority given to underserved or at-risk children. We request the Legislature’s support to help reach its goal of expanding access to early learning. EOEL provides comments on the EDN700 budget proposal and details of our requests. Budget Reductions and Requests Recognizing the dire economic situation our State is currently facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our office made careful budget reduction considerations. We are acutely aware that all departments are being impacted and have had to make difficult decisions during this time and we understand cuts are a necessary option the State must consider when addressing our budget shortfall. Testimony of the Executive Office on Early Learning – H.B. No. 200 March 16, 2021 Page 2 Investing in our youngest keiki is both a short-term and a long-term relief package. Investing in quality early care and education not only provides immediate support to Hawaii’s working families and boosts the economy by providing jobs, it also provides substantial long-term benefits as well. High-quality early childhood programs help “build the foundations for stronger family lives that result in larger gains for their children” and have “substantial second-generation effects on education, employment, crime, school suspensions, and health” (Heckman, James, and Ganesh Karapukula, 2019). The proposed EDN700 budget reflects a total reduction of $1,325,311 and attempts to mitigate as much impact to families and children as possible. Governor’s message number 1 further reduces $3,224,161 in general funds for FY 22 and FY 23 to reflect the transfer of 18 pre-Kindergarten classrooms to the Charter School Commission pursuant to Act 046, SLH 2020. In addition, EOEL requests the following: 1. $249,239 for restoration of funding for seven pre-Kindergarten classroom teaching positions. The 7 positions listed are existing positions located in seven classrooms which have been in operation since at least SY 2019-20. Because of vacancies, these positions were cut in the 2020 session but were later restored without funding. One Teacher and one Educational Assistant per classroom are necessary pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statute § 302L-7 (2018). This also addresses current health and safety guidelines to address COVID-19 pursuant to DHS and CDC. These classrooms allow the EOEL Public Prekindergarten Program to serve more than 100 students and their families. The classrooms impacted are a core service essential to reopening the economy as they allow families to return to work and sustain financial security. These schools are in high-need areas where there are no or few other providers (e.g., Hawaiʻi Island), and classroom closure means greater reduced access for families in these areas. Ensuring these positions are funded will prevent a similar crisis faced during the 2020 legislative session in the school community and for families. Schools and families are unable to operate in a state of uncertainty about funding for these classrooms year after year, especially when enrollment for families must begin the spring prior, and particularly at a time when families are worrying about mitigating financial impacts and their ability to return to work.