Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 4, 1 April 1997 — OHA's modest budget request faces threat of legislative ax [ARTICLE]

OHA's modest budget request faces threat of legislative ax

By Deborah Ward The Office of Hawaiian Affairs may face an 8 percent cut in its hiennium budget request to the state Legislature, at a time when there is an unprecedented increase in requests by Hawaiians to the agency for services. The Senate Ways and Means Committee called for the 8 percent cut in mid-March in response to a $270 million decrease in collected revenues forecast by the Council on Revenues. OHA administrators met with Senate WAM committee members in late March and noted that to make an 8 percent cut in OHA's general funds budget would be disproportionate since, unlike other state agencies, OHA only receives about 36 percent of its total budget from state general funds. A decision on the budget was still pending by WAM as Ka Wai Ola o OHA went to press. ^mmmm

For FY98 and FY99, OHA has requested j a 3.7 percent increase of $279,846 over its current year (FY96-97) budget of $7.5 million, for costs associated with: fringe benefit increases mandated by the state Department of Budget and Finance; projected office lease rent increases; estabhshment of a new posi- | tion to ensure OHA eomplianee with the Uniform Information Practices Act; and for improvements to its management information system.

However, the House Finance Committee in late February did not approve OHA's requested biennium budget ($7.8 million in FY97-98 and $7.6 million in FY98-99). Instead, the house took a conservative position and recommended level funding due to the state's current fiscal condition. At the same time, the committee authorized an increase in trust fund appropriations to meet OHA's needs. However, such appropriations of ceded land trust funds are actually the responsibility of the OHA Board of Trustees. OHA Administrator Linda Colburn, commenting on the House decision, said "This was disappointing in light of the fact the Legislature decreased our general funds budget $724,000 last year. That reduction of travel funds at the very time the Legislature expects us to do more for our community, is probMmĒ^mmmamĒ^mKĒĒaĒĒĒĒMKmmĒĒĒĒĒĒaimamaaam

lematic," Colburn said. "This predicament is further complicated by the fact that the Governor has chosen to withold more than $7 million, nearly half our anticipated ceded land revenues this year, whieh should be coming to OHA." Colburn said it costs almost $7 million a year just to run the office. Colburn said that the annual general funds budget approved by the Legislature has decreased over several bienniums and represents a smaller percentage of OHA total expenditures eaeh year. "The general funds enable us to serve part-Hawaiians who are also our beneficiaries. Reductions in general funding are injurious to the majority of our beneficiaries." * » As a result, Colburn said, "We're being asked to do more with less."

Look in the daily newspapers for the OHA Legislative Reports. These reports present a clear account of the issues facing the Hawaiian people. At the bottom right of this page, and on pages A-6 and A-8, we've reprinted three of the previous OHA Legislative Reports.