Hawaii

Decision instrument

A new general obligation bond may not push the highest year’s principal and interest above 18.5% of average general-fund revenue. There is no separate cap on the principal.

What public act authorizes the borrowing, and where is the purpose and the first-year cost written down? Hawaii Constitution, Article VII, Section 13. The average uses the three fiscal years before the issue. Federal grants are left out of that average. Every law that authorizes the bonds has to include a finding that the issue will not break the limit. The governor and a two-thirds vote of each house can declare an emergency and go past it. On June 30, 2025, the average revenue was $10.691 billion. The limit on the highest year’s payment was $1.978 billion. The highest year charged against that limit was $1.096 billion. The unused margin was $882 million.

Debt statement

No Annual Debt Statement of the New Jersey kind.

What yearly filing states gross debt, deductions, and how close the issuer is to its limit? State debt is in the annual report for the year ended June 30, 2025, Note 4. County dollar rows are not attached. Each county finance director does file a funded-debt summary under HRS Chapter 47C. Those summaries are not in this card.

Debt limit

A county’s funded debt stops at 15% of the assessed value of its real property.

What cap binds a county or a city, and is the state's own ceiling a different rule? Constitution, Article VII, Section 13. The value is the last tax assessment roll. Principal and interest are a first charge on that county’s general fund. Revenue bonds, special-purpose revenue bonds, and improvement bonds secured only by the benefited property are excluded from the county’s funded debt. Honolulu is a city and a county. Kalawao has no elected county government.

Conflict rule

An employee may not take official action that directly affects a business in which the employee has a substantial financial interest.

Which ethics statute covers local officers, what counts as an interest, and who is left out? HRS § 84-14. The same bar covers a private undertaking in which the employee is counsel, advisor, consultant, or representative. This section does not set a percent of ownership.

Geography

Four counties with a county government, plus Kalawao.

What is the county-equivalent, and which cities, schools, and authorities must not be pasted onto that row? FIPS 15001 through 15009. Honolulu is a city and a county. Kalawao is a county with no elected government of its own. Dollar rows stay blank.

Primary money record

General obligation bond principal: $8.674 billion. All of it is backed by the full faith and credit of the state.

Which audited report is the state's own number, and as of what date? Annual report, Note 4, June 30, 2025, in thousands. Callable principal is $8,670,467. The one noncallable series is $3,905. Together that is $8,674,372. Unamortized premium is $219,222. Harbors carries $5,154 of these bonds in the proprietary fund. After the premium is added and the harbors piece is placed there, governmental activities show $8,888,440. In December 2024 the state issued $750 million of taxable Series GN bonds. Bonds authorized but not yet issued were about $4.201 billion. Another $1.611 billion is defeased and is not in the $8.674 billion.

Who pays the coupon

In fiscal 2026 these bonds need $778.645 million of principal and $317.711 million of interest. Principal and interest are a first charge on the general fund.

Which fund, tax, or rate is actually pledged — not which new store might show up later? Note 4. Governmental bonds need $754.119 million of principal and $311.480 million of interest. Direct placements need $21.401 million and $5.975 million. The harbors piece needs $3.125 million and $0.256 million. The debt-limit schedule uses a highest-year payment of $1.096 billion, which is not the same cut as this fiscal 2026 total. The two figures are not subtracted from each other.

Other obligors

Revenue bond principal: $3.451 billion. Special-purpose revenue bonds: $1.451 billion. Do not add either to the $8.674 billion.

Which authorities and districts borrow beside the state and must not be added to its total? Note 5 and the long-term-liability rollforward. Governmental revenue-bond principal is $488.548 million. Business-type revenue-bond principal is $2.962 billion. They are paid from the department’s own revenue. Special-purpose revenue bonds of about $1.451 billion are loans to private projects. The state is not liable for them, and they are not in the financial statements. About $1.281 billion more of those bonds is authorized and unissued. About $9.960 billion of ordinary revenue bonds is authorized and unissued. Those are permissions, not debt outstanding.

Book-entry wall

Cede & Co., at the Depository Trust Company.

Who is the registered owner on ordinary public paper? Series-level confirmation still waits on that official statement. Beneficial owners stay unnamed.