2026 legislative update: Conference week begins as session nears end | University of Hawaiʻi System News

2026 legislative update: Conference week begins as session nears end | University of Hawaiʻi System News
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April 21, 2026
UH News
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Aloha
UH
ʻohana
Luis Salaveria
As the 2026 legislative session enters its final month, the
Hawaiʻi
State Legislature is preparing to begin conference committee meetings to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of key bills. Given the challenges the state is facing in light of diminishing tax revenues and economic pressures resulting from both national and international events, there will be many competing positions for a finite amount of state resources. One of the most important aspects of this process is the state budget bill,
HB1800 HD1 SD1
, which will determine funding levels for state departments, including the University of
Hawaiʻi
Conference committee negotiations between the House Finance and Senate Ways and Means committees will shape the final outcome for both operating and capital improvement appropriations across state government. Like other departments,
UH
will be closely monitoring these discussions as agreements are reached.
Supplemental operating budget
Since it was approved by the
UH
Board of Regents in November, the university’s supplemental operating budget request has advanced through several stages of the legislative process. The regents approved a request totaling $18.8 million in additional general funds for Fiscal Year 2027.
The House of Representatives completed its draft budget (
HD1
) in March and allocated $11.5 million toward
UH
priorities. Most recently, the Senate passed its version of the budget (
SD1
), which reduced general fund support for the university by $1.7 million compared with the House version. The Senate also added $5.7 million of special fund appropriations—adding programs to
UH
’s budget through appropriations from the Tuition and Fees Special Fund.
With conference committee negotiations about to begin, the following table compares the Board of Regents request with the governor’s proposal and the House and Senate versions of the operating budget:
Operating Comparison
Category
BOR
Gov
HD1
SD1
Healthcare Initiative
$3,724,600
UH
Mānoa Athletics
$15,080,000
Aloha Safe Homes (
GM2
$300,000
Evaluate sea-level rise (
GM2
$500,000
Name, Image and Likeness (
GM2
$5,000,000
Support for
UH
Cancer Center (GM5)
$5,000,000
Support American Sign Language Programs
$140,000
Information Technology Services
$150,000
Community Resilience Hubs Pilot (
UH
System)
$500,000
Move
CTAHR
from
UOH100
to
UOH120
Change funding source for 8 positions from General Fund to
TFSF
($595,824)
Change funding source for 8 positions from General Fund to
TFSF
$595,824
Reduce funds for
UH
Mānoa
($616,070)
Reduce funds for
JABSOM
($248,184)
Reduce funds for
UH
Hilo
($266,866)
3 Professors and Funds (
TFSF
) for
UH
West
Oʻahu
$319,000
Professional Master Classes for Culinary at
UH
Community Colleges (
TFSF
$4,169,328
Waikīkī Aquarium Green Fee (Special Land and Development Fund)
$700,000
Reduce positions and funds (various campuses)**
($6,079)
Grand Total (General Funds)
$18,804,600
$11,590,000
($1,733,023)
Total
$18,804,600
$11,590,000
$4,051,129
Items in purple are Special Funded, not General Funded.
SD1
moves $20.2 million in General Funds out of
UOH100
UH
Mānoa) into a new Program
ID
UOH120
CTAHR
**In total for
UH
: 124 General Fund Permanent
FTE
s, 13.15 General Fund Temporary
FTE
s, 24 Special Fund Permanent
FTE
s, 2 Federal Fund Permanent
FTE
s, and 22 Revolving Fund Permanent
FTE
GM2
and
GM5
were two budget Governor’s Messages sent by the Governor to the Legislature that added these items to his official budget request.
Capital improvement program (
CIP
) budget update
For the supplemental capital improvement projects (
CIP
) budget,
UH
requested $283.1 million in additional General Obligation (
GO
) bond funding for
FY
27 to support capital renewal, deferred maintenance and modernization projects across the 10-campus system. Debt service for GO bonds are paid by the state’s general fund.
The governor’s budget included $137.3 million of this request. The House draft budget (
HD1
) increased GO bond support to $219.3 million. The Senate draft (
SD1
) reduced GO bond funding by $9.5 million and proposed appropriating $161.5 million from the
UH
special funds, including the Tuition and Fees Special Fund to support capital projects.
UH
President Hensel discussed the issue broadly at the April 16
UH
Board of Regents meeting,
which can be viewed here
The following table summarizes the
CIP
comparison between the Board of Regents request and the governor, House and Senate versions of the budget:
CIP Comparison
Description
BOR
FY
27
Gov
FY
27
HD1
FY
27
SD1 General Obligation
FY
27
SD1 Special Fund
FY
27
UH
Mānoa Student Housing
$59,250,000
$28,500,000
($28,500,000)
$28,500,000
UH
System Renew, Improve and Modernize (
RIM
$100,000,000
$65,000,000
$80,000,000
$65,000,000
UH
Hilo
RIM
$30,000,000
$9,500,000
$9,500,000
$9,500,000
UH
Community Colleges Capital Renewal and Deferred Maintenance
$30,725,000
$20,000,000
$20,000,000
$20,000,000
UH
West
Oʻahu
RIM
$5,000,000
$3,000,000
$3,000,000
$3,000,000
UH
Mānoa Athletics Facilities
$11,000,000
$7,300,000
$11,000,000
$11,000,000
UH
Community Colleges Minor
CIP
$30,125,000
$20,000,000
$20,000,000
$10,000,000
Waikīkī Aquarium
$10,000,000
$7,000,000
$7,000,000
Kapiʻolani
CC
Renovations for Health Program
$4,000,000
$4,000,000
UH
Maui College Vocational Training Center Modernization
$3,000,000
UH
Hilo Student Housing
$5,500,000
$5,500,000
UH
Maui College-Hale Modernization
$9,000,000
$9,000,000
Waialeʻe
Livestock Research Station Improvements (
CTAHR
$3,500,000
Kauaʻi
CC
Housing
$10,000,000
Waikīkī Aquarium Ceiling Renovations
$2,000,000
Project Adjustment Fund
($4,000)
$4,000
Total
$283,100,000
$137,300,000
$188,500,000
($9,504,000)
$161,504,000
Items in purple are Special Funded, not General Funded.
What happens next
As conference committees begin their work, members will be negotiating across a wide range of priorities beyond the
UH
budget. Because many conference committee decisions occur late in the session, final outcomes typically become clear closer to adjournment.
The
Hawaiʻi
State Legislature is scheduled to adjourn on May 8, 2026. I will provide an update after the session concludes to share the final outcomes for the university.
Mahalo for your continued support of our students, campuses and the mission of the University of
Hawaiʻi
Luis P. Salaveria
Vice President for Budget and Finance / Chief Financial Officer
University of
Hawaiʻi
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