Blank the amount, defect the date
If you’re following bills as they move through our legislature, there are a couple of practices that we need you to know about. Often, committee chairs will refer to one or both of these practices when they move bills forward.
We can spare half a penny for education
“Friends! Romans! Countrymen! We desperately need to lift our public schools and our namesake university into the 21st century.
Beware of state nuances with tax software
Well, we’re in the thick of tax season! It’s that time of year when individuals, gritting and gnashing their teeth, scour through their financial records and begin the arduous process of completing their 2018 federal and state tax returns.
Individual development accounts, version 2.0
Individual development accounts, a program that seems to be gaining traction at our Legislature, is a way to help lower-income people build self-sufficiency.
Squirreling away money at the Department of Transportation
Well, it looks like the Hawaii State Watch Doggie has woken up from his nap.
Creativity abounds at our Legislature, part 2
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.
Creativity abounds at our Legislature
This year, our Legislature once again is poised to consider revenue-raising – namely, taxes — in new and creative ways.
Congestion pricing probably not viable here
Recently, we have heard the term “congestion pricing” bandied about as a way of improving traffic congestion here, and of raising more money.
DOE’s repair backlog tripled from last year
In a budget briefing at the Legislature at about this time last year, state 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 a significant drop from the $392 million reported in 2010.
Zero-based budgeting can help state
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 they pick themselves, but sometimes still disregard this requirement.