Senate Ways and Means advances HB 300 with amendments, trims revenue outlook and prioritizes education, housing and workforce

The Senate Committee on Ways and Means voted to pass HB 300, the Senate draft of the state operating budget, with amendments after the chair outlined reduced revenue projections and a set of targeted appropriations.

"HB300 is a combination of many hours of dedication and effort by this body to identify opportunities for strategic appropriations across the state," the chair said, citing Council of Revenues downgrades that reduced projected growth for fiscal 2025 and 2026 and created an estimated $554.6 million shortfall over the next biennium. The chair said the Senate draft prioritizes education and workforce development, housing and homelessness, property‑insurance stabilization, environmental sustainability and key infrastructure, and agricultural innovation.

The chair listed department‑level changes the Senate draft would make if enacted. Examples the committee cited include: adding 44 positions and $13,324,731 in each fiscal year for the Department of Agriculture for biosecurity work and adding 7.5 positions and $422,604 in each fiscal year to operate and maintain irrigation systems statewide; creating a Cemetery Management Office (two positions and roughly $1.1 million in FY 2026 and about $1.2 million in FY 2027); funding cybersecurity risk mitigation ($1.6 million each year) and cloud backup/disaster recovery (noted amounts for FY 2026 and FY 2027); and increases in special fund ceilings tied to Maui wildfire insurance recoveries.

The chair described multiple department‑specific appropriations and position changes across state agencies, including the Departments of Attorney General, Budget and Finance, Education, Health, Human Services and Transportation. On education, the draft includes funding for the First Lady's Feeding Hawaii Keiki initiative and support for career‑foundation programming in collaboration with the Department of Education. On health, it includes funding boosts for Medicaid home‑and‑community‑based services and psychiatric beds at the Hawaii State Hospital. The draft also included proposals to help stabilize state operations by limiting most new program funding to the first fiscal year.

Committee members did not offer extended debate on the budget presentation during the meeting. After the chair asked for further discussion and none was offered, the chair recorded an aye vote and the clerk announced the chair’s recommendation had been adopted.

What happens next: The committee advanced HB 300 with amendments; further procedural steps in the Senate and any conference with the House will determine the final budget language and funding levels.