Hawaii state worker furloughs not enough to close budget gap - Derrick DePledge and Dan Nakaso, Honolulu Advertiser

The labor savings from collective bargaining will not be enough to close the state's budget deficit, Gov. Linda Lingle said yesterday, adding that the state would not immediately resort to a second round of layoffs to help make up the difference. The administration has projected a budget deficit of about $1 billion through June 2011. Lingle has imposed 14 percent spending restrictions on the state Department of Education and the University of Hawaii, part of which will be achieved through labor cuts from a new contract with the Hawaii State Teachers Association and a pending contract with the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly.