Senator Donna Mercado Kim

Aloha Friends and Neighbors:

Recession. Deficits. Sacrifices. At the start of the year, these themes were at the forefront of everyone's concerns. Difficulties of the 2010 legislative session were reported extensively in the media. In fact, the demands and challenges of this session far surpassed any I had experienced. By the time we adjourned sine die on April 29th, we felt like we had run a marathon, having endured thousands of hours of work around the clock.

My responsibilities as Chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, during the worst recession our State has faced, was to piece together the puzzle of producing a responsible balanced budget. Our committee spent months reviewing all state departmental budgets, their programs, overtime, vacant positions, equipment purchases, revenues, expenditures, contracts and special funds. We balanced the needs of the State through revenue enhancements and expenditure reductions, including the use of furloughs and cuts in positions and programs. Most importantly, we preserved the social fabric of our community.

I advocated for a budget focusing on two issues: education and core services that safeguard the social safety net. With near unanimous consensus, the Legislature agreed on a $10.2 billion state budget for the fiscal year 2010-2011 without raising the general excise tax or tapping into the portion of the transient accommodations tax currently provided to the counties. Were some decisions unpopular? Yes. Did I like all of them? No. But the alternative was to raise the general excise tax at a time when businesses and families could least afford it.

There are signs of hope as tourism numbers rise, the housing market appears to be stabilizing, and new forecasts calls for an increase in general fund tax revenue. We are cautiously optimistic that the economy is slowly recovering. As we are not yet out of the woods, I will continue to monitor the state's cash flow and the Council on Revenues projections while the Legislature is out of session.

As always, I thank you for your continued support and expressions of encouragement. While many of my colleagues choose to seek higher office this election year, I wish to continue to focus my efforts here in the Senate, providing continuity and accountability for the residents of the 14th District.

Aloha and Mahalo,

Donna Mercado Kim
State Senator, 14th District

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