Gov. Josh Green signed the nearly $40 billion executive biennium budget bill on Monday, June 30, 2025. Allocating $19.8 billion to state operations for fiscal year 2026 and about $19.7 billion for fiscal year 2027.
House Bill 300, now Act 250, includes roughly $10.53 billion in general funds for FY2026, which starts today, and $10.58 billion for FY2027.
Capital improvement projects were allocated approximately $3.3 billion for the now-current fiscal year and $2.3 billion for second- year spending. To support statewide construction projects, about $1.4 billion was budgeted for general obligation bonds for F2026 and about $432 million for FY2027.
Green said the budget is “a tremendous undertaking for my administration.”
“With federal funding cuts looming, our state cannot afford to work in silos,” Green said in a news release. “This budget reflects the collaboration between our legislators and our departments to prioritize critical funding efforts for the betterment of our people and for the health and stability of our state’s budget.”
Uncertainty over federal funding and projections for reduced state revenues played a role in the governor’s decision to line-item veto about $110 million in spending across the fiscal biennium, the release said, which represents about less than half a percent of the total $40 billion state budget.
“Exercising fiscal prudence is necessary to stabilize the state budget and a critical, comprehensive analysis of the cuts was conducted to sensibly use state resources,” according to the news release. “Each line-item veto took into consideration each department’s capacity and feasibility to fulfill projects, as well as the availability of other funding sources to sufficiently support vetoed items.”
Some of the larger budget items include $60 million for deferred maintenance for the Department of Education, $26.6 million for 44 positions for bio-security and approximately $30 million allocated to both the Healthcare Education Loan Repayment Program and electricity costs for the DOE.
Other spending highlights include housing and homelessness programs, with $37 million for the kauhale development projects, one of Green’s initiatives to provide semi-permanent housing to the state’s homeless. Another $7.5 million is set aside for the Rapid Re- Housing Program and $3.1 million for the Family Assessment Center in Waianae on Oahu’s west side and Puna on Hawaii island.
The budget also includes child welfare initiatives, including $7 million for the Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System and $6 million to pay a shortage differential to Child Protective Services employees “to support recruitment and retention,” according to the news release.
School athletic programs will receive about nearly $11.8 for increases for travel, coaching salaries, athletic training supplies, flag football and “equity efforts.” UH Manoa Athletics will receive a little more than $7 million and four positions, the release said.
For the state’s fire response, Green’s office said the budget allocates about $10.9 million for aircraft rescue firefighting operations, $15 million for statewide highway fire mitigation, $12.9 million for the Disaster Case Management Project to continue Maui’s wildfire recovery efforts, and $14.8 million for 22 positions in the Fire Protection Program.
The islands’ paramedics were allocated about $7.6 million for 911 emergency ground ambulance and aero-medical ambulance service for Maui County, and a combined $6.7 million for ambulance services for North Kona and a second medic station and ambulance on Molokai.
Green also allocated about $2 million for greenhouse gas reduction efforts, the release said.
Other spending items contained in the executive biennium budget include:
• Nearly $7 million and 21 positions for the state Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement.
• More than $4.7 million and eight positions for the Fireworks Enforcement Section.
• One position and $7.35 million for live- streaming of all state and local board and commission meetings.
• A total of $4 million for litigation expenses.
• Nearly $42 million for summer programs.
• A total of $2.9 million for the Healthcare Workforce Development Program.
• A total for $825,000 for the gun buyback project.
• One million dollars for the Farm to Foodbank Program.
• A total of $556,000 for vehicle replacement.
Source: The Garden Island
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