Hawaii is building a brand-new state financial system to replace one that's been running for 56 years, which is good news for taxpayers and anyone who gets paid by the state.

The project costs about $66 million and will take several years, starting with planning, then moving old data over, testing, and training staff before it goes live.

The new system is designed to flag unusual transactions automatically so staff can review and catch errors, something the old system can't do.

Officials say the upgrade will let the state shut down a bunch of patchwork backup systems built over the years just to work around the old system's limits, saving money once those are turned off.

It should also speed up payments to vendors and anyone else owed money by the state.

Outlook: The system is still in the early planning phase, so most of the benefits are years away.