The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means on March 2, 2026.
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March 2, 2026, 10 a.m.
Hawaii State Capitol
Conference Room 211 and Videoconference
To: Senate Committee on Ways and Means
Sen. Donovan M. Dela Cruz, Chair
Sen. Sharon Y. Moriwaki, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF SB2921 — RELATING TO STATE FUNDS
Aloha Chair, Vice Chair and other Committee members,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports SB2921, which would transfer the cash balances in various non-general funds into the general fund.
This action would be an effective measure for shoring up the general fund while the state navigates a period of financial uncertainty.
The amounts to be transferred are currently blank, but the committee could look to the various special, revolving and trust funds that the state Office of the Auditor has recommended be abolished or reclassified.
A Grassroot review of auditor reports published in the past five years identified more than 90 funds that fall into this category. These funds are collectively expected to hold more than $115 million in fiscal year 2027. Grassroot can provide a list of these funds to the committee upon request.
The committee could also look to a 2020 auditor report that identified more than $480 million that at the time could have been transferred from non-general funds into the general fund without adversely affecting the programs that those funds support.[1]
Other non-general fund dollars that are ripe for transfer to the general fund include funds that have been idle for a long time. Tom Yamachika at the Tax Foundation has written several columns about these funds:
>> “Idle Land and Natural Resources Funds.”
>> “Idle Agriculture Funds.”
>> “Idle DOE funds.”
>> “Use That Hoarded Tuition and Fees Now.”
Grassroot thanks the committee for hearing this measure and would welcome further dialogue about this bill.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
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[1] “Supplement to Report No. 20-06, Report on Special and Revolving Fund Accounts with Inactive or Excess Balances,” Office of the Auditor, May 2020.
