Well, it looks like the Hawaii State Watch Doggie has woken up from his nap. A: Hey! Keeping watch is hard work! Q: Undoubtedly. So what are you reading there? It looks like an Auditor’s report — “Review of Special Funds, … Read More
This week, we are continuing our coverage of creative tax-related bills at our legislature. The Hawaii State Tax Watch Doggie is taking a nap at the moment so I’ll continue without him. Let’s start with the revenue raisers. SB 1373 … Read More
This year, our legislature once again is poised to consider revenue raising – namely, taxes in new and creative ways. For a different perspective on the issue, we’re asking the Hawaii State Tax Watch Doggie, who has been going through … Read More
Pending tax bills. Now that the session has opened, we will discuss the tax bills that are or may be pending in this session, and their provisions, sponsors and prospects. The host for this episode is Jay Fidell. The guest … Read More
Recently, we have heard the term “congestion pricing” bandied about as a way of improving traffic congestion here, and of raising more money. What is it? Congestion pricing is a way of charging motorists for driving in designated areas during … Read More
In a budget briefing at the legislature at about this time last year, Department of Education officials reported that their backlog of repair and maintenance jobs was $293 million, and they were patting themselves on the back because it was … Read More
Last week, we spent some time on “variance reports,” which is how our state government agencies report differences in position count and spending from one year to the next. The agencies are also supposed to report on performance measures that … Read More
Although our legislature hasn’t opened yet, legislators are at work already. The money committees, for example, have started quizzing the various executive departments on their budget requests for the upcoming biennium (2019-2020). According to law, specifically HRS section 37-75, the … Read More
Recently, the State Auditor released Report No. 18-19, which reviewed special funds, trust funds, and trust accounts of our Department of Land and Natural Resources. Under law, the Auditor is supposed to review an agency’s special, revolving, and trust funds … Read More
On November 28, our state Climate Commission, consisting of 22 county and state government officials, issued a press release affirming that it supports a carbon tax “to achieve Hawaii’s ambitious and necessary emissions reduction goals.” The climate commission includes three … Read More