HONOLULU -- Hawaii is keeping millions of dollars reserved in emergency savings accounts, even as many public workers prepare for unpaid leave because of the state's cash shortage.

Educators, unions and some Democrats are pressuring Hawaii's elected leaders to crack open the state's piggy bank, where an estimated $2 billion is set aside in some 200 special funds.

Two of the richest special funds are drawing the most attention: the dormant $180 million Hurricane Relief Fund and the $45 million Rainy Day Fund, which is paid into by tobacco lawsuit settlement money.

Majority Democrats in the state Legislature declined to drain those funds during this year's session, and the law prohibits the Republican governor from drawing them down herself without lawmakers' approval.

House Finance Committee Chairman Marcus Oshiro says that as bad as the economy seems now, that money may be needed even more next year.