DOI 10.1515/cjpp-2013-0023 Calif. J. Politics Policy 2013; 5(3): 415–431 Todd Belt* Righting the Canoe: the Slow Recovery and FY 2013 in Hawai‘i Abstract: Gov. Abercrombie’s promise to “right the canoe” is progressing slowly. The institutional impediment of working with former Gov. Lingle’s biennial budget is one reason for this. Another is the painstakingly slow economic recov- ery. This budget report covers those topics and the budget passed by the legis- lature for FY 13. That operating budget of $11.2 billion was slightly more than the governor requested. But, the big budget story for FY 2013 involves the CIP budget, which swelled to $3.2 billion, more than a billion more than the gover- nor’s request. The additions to the CIP budget involved a good deal of borrowing in order to stimulate Hawai‘i’s economy and improve its infrastructure in order to prod along the sluggish economic recovery. Keywords: budget; FY 12–13; governor; Hawai‘i; legislature. *Corresponding author: Todd Belt, Department of Political Science, University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, Hilo, HI 96720-4091, e-mail: tbelt@hawaii.edu 1 Introduction Neil Abercrombie took over the governorship of Hawai‘i on December 5, 2010, giving Democrats both the state house and the governor’s mansion. But shortly after his inauguration, he was forced to introduce a budget prepared by his Republican predecessor, Linda Lingle. Abercrombie, who campaigned on a set of programs called a “New Day for Hawai‘i,” quickly scrambled to muster a package of adjustments to the 2011–2013 biennial budget. The governor could only do so much, and many of his controversial revenue proposals to fund new programs were shot down by the 2011 legislature. The 2012 legislature worked on the second year of the biennial budget, and anticipated revenue increases allowed the legislature to fill in many of the cuts budgeted the prior year. This allowed for passage of 11 of the governor’s 14 priority initiatives. A major achievement celebrated by the legislature and governor was the set- tlement to resolve a ceded lands dispute. Senate Bill 2783 conveyed parcels of land in Honolulu to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The total value of the land was estimated at $200 million.