Friday, March 29, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Monday, February 24, 2020
Hawaii Budget A Rated--Except for Pension Debt
By News Release @ 7:50 PM :: 2454 Views :: Hawaii Statistics

Hawaii -- State Budget Practice Report Cards and Budget Resource Guide

From Volcker Alliance, February 24, 2020

Hawaii was the only state to earn an A average in four out of five budget practice categories evaluated for fiscal 2017 through 2019. The one miss was a glaring contrast to its four top grades: In legacy costs, Hawaii averaged a D-minus—the lowest possible score—for failing to adequately fund public worker retirement plans. 

In transparency, Hawaii along with Tennessee, California, and Alaska stood apart from other states in revealing the cost of deferred infrastructure maintenance. This information appears in Hawaii’s supplemental budget, which includes such costs for each fiscal year. The estimates include about $500 million for roads.

Hawaii’s top mark in reserve funds stemmed from policies that parallel best practices cited in the recent Volcker Alliance working paper, Rainy Day Fund Strategies: A Call to Acton. It was one of only twenty-one states to use historical revenue volatility to estimate the appropriate amount to set aside in its Emergency and Budget Reserve Fund—a move critical to achieving its A average.

Hawaii’s A average in budget maneuvers reflected an improvement in its annual marks after the state notched a B in fiscal 2017 for using a one-time transfer from budget reserves to cover recurring expenditures. It avoided that budget-balancing practice in 2018 and 2019.

The D-minus average in legacy costs, which include pensions and other postemployment benefits (OPEB), principally health care, reflected the state’s pension funding level of 55 percent in 2018, 15 percentage points below the total for all states. Hawaii did raise its annual grade to D in 2019, after the legislature decided to fund OPEB in line with actuarial recommendations. 

To emphasize the need for clear and comprehensible budgets to inform citizens, promote responsible policymaking, and improve fiscal stability, the Volcker Alliance in 2016 began a study of budgetary and financial reporting practices of all fifty states. The Volcker Alliance’s mission is to improve the effectiveness of the administration of government at all levels. Making state budgeting more transparent and accountable is an important part of that goal.

The report cards presented here are taken from the 2020 Volcker Alliance report, Truth and Integrity in State Budgeting: The Balancing Act, which proposes a set of best practices for policymakers. For those wishing to gain greater insight into state fiscal issues, the accompanying budget resource guide is derived from the Alliance publication State Budget Sources: An Annotated Guide to State Budgets, Financial Reports, and Fiscal Analyses (2016). 

read … Full Report

PDF: State Budget Report Card: Hawaii

WE: Alaska, California and Hawaii joined Tennessee in receiving an "A" for budget transparency – “They were the only ones providing information on deferred infrastructure maintenance costs to the public for all three years of the evaluation period.  Disclosure of such infrastructure data is critical to assessing spending needs and balancing a budget.”

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT