Hawaii

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Hawaii lawmakers closed out their session this week, but not before taking a series of controversial actions to balance a $10.2 billion budget that has been hammered by the recession.

SAN FRANCISCO — Citing economic strains that have battered the state’s budget, Moody’s Investors Service Thursday assigned a negative outlook to Hawaii’s Aa2 general obligation bond rating.

SAN FRANCISCO — Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle, in her final state of the state address Monday, called for a beefed-up rainy-day fund and a bond program to help property owners finance clean-energy systems and energy-efficiency upgrades.

SAN FRANCISCO — Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle is proposing to further restructure the state’s debt portfolio as part of a budget revision proposal that is primarily focused on dealing with a continued decline in tax receipts that is threatening to throw the budget out of balance.

The value of Oahu property declined this year. The city and county of Honolulu, which governs the entire island, mailed tax assessment notices this week, and officials say total gross assessed valuation of all taxable real property on Oahu decreased from $191.2 billion to $178.3 billion, an overall decrease of 6.7%.

After months of negotiations driven by declining state tax receipts, Hawaii’s largest government employee union reached a tentative contract agreement with the administration of Gov. Linda Lingle, calling for 42 unpaid furlough days over the next two years.