They've got to be kidding, right? Last year, the price for the long-awaited and urgently needed Kapolei court complex stood at $95 million. Mere months later, the project is now set to cost $48 million more.

Everyone's heard of inflation and the effect of rising fuel prices, but a 50 percent increase is unacceptable.

Granted, state officials figuring the budget last year had no way to anticipate the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and its impact on the oil refineries of the Gulf Coast.

But the other factor cited as a reason — the competition for construction labor driving up building costs — has been around for some time. How did the state arrive at an estimate that was so unrealistic?

It's a given that the project is a critical need. The court complex would provide adequate space for Family Court, which is now squeezed into inadequate facilities at Ka'ahumanu Hale downtown. It also would accommodate a new juvenile detention center and other District Court and Circuit Court offices.

The state undoubtedly will have to arrive at a compromise, allotting some extra dollars for the project and scaling back the plans.

But first things first. Lawmakers need to understand the calculus used by state planners and see that it's corrected to avoid similar crises in the future.

And taxpayers deserve the information that a full, detailed inquiry should provide.