Senate President Ron Kouchi and Speaker Scott Saiki issued the following statement in response to Governor Ige's proposal to impose a 20% reduction in state employee salaries:
Although Governor Ige has the unilateral authority to impose furloughs and salary cuts, we do not agree with such action. We urge the Governor to obtain better data and analysis before he makes this decision. We also urge him to act on all alternatives, just as the National Governors Association did when it called on Congress four days ago to provide an additional $500 billion to the 50 states to stabilize state budgets due to tax revenue shortfalls.
Although we disagree with Governor Ige's proposal, the Legislature will work with him to assess and pursue all options.