Lingle Submits Supplemental

Gov. Linda Lingle Monday submitted a fiscal 2009 supplemental budget proposal that includes more than $500 million of proposed revenue bonds. The budget request, for the second year of the state’s two-year budget period, includes $1.1 billion of additional capital improvement funds, of which almost half is from revenue bonds, according to the Lingle administration. The proposal includes $250.1 million of revenue bonds for the state’s airports modernization plan to fund improvements at airports in Honolulu, Kahului, Lihue, and Hilo. The governor also wants $124.4 million of revenue bonds for a harbor modernization plan that would finance projects at six harbors, and $33.5 million of special funds and revenue bonds for continued highway operations and to complete current highway projects on the islands of Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii. “I believe we have succeeded in presenting a prudent budget with a clear focus on meeting Hawaii’s critical needs, while working within new financial and economic constraints,” Lingle said in a statement. The general fund budget would grow by $100.9 million, or 1.9%, mostly to finance fringe benefits increases for government employees.