HAWAII – The Hawaii State Senate has voted to pass its version of the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2014, laying out an amended spending plan for the fiscal biennium of 2013 to 2015.

The elected officials who sat on the Ways and Means committee that approved the $12 billion budget spoke on the floor of the senate Monday, starting with chair Senator David Ige.

With the election season gearing up, decisions concerning the budget have become subject to political scrutiny.

During his campaign tour of East Hawaii on Saturday, Governor Neil Abercrombie dug into the senate committee’s decision to reduce his executive budget requests. Although he did not mention the name of Senator David Ige directly, it was clear his remarks were aimed squarely at his upcoming primary challenger for the governor’s seat.

The senate also passed a separate budget for the state judiciary, and in it the planned Kona Judiciary Complex will get the funding it needs to become a reality.