HONOLULU — Hawaii lawmakers on Monday reconvened their 2020 legislative session to flesh out details for how they plan to spend more than $600 million in federal coronavirus relief funds.
HONOLULU — Hawaii lawmakers on Monday reconvened their 2020 legislative session to flesh out details for how they plan to spend more than $600 million in federal coronavirus relief funds.
Lawmakers also expect to tackle police reform measures, including a bill that would amend state open records laws to allow the public to learn information about police officer suspensions.
The Democratic Party-controlled House and Senate suspended the regular annual session in March to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. They returned last month briefly to work on the budget after the U.S. Congress appropriated relief money to the states and the pandemic triggered a sharp decline in tax revenue.
House and Senate leaders expect to put $230 million of the relief money toward $100 monthly payments to those receiving unemployment insurance benefits. The payments will start Aug. 1 and last through December.
The payments are designed to partially replace a $600 monthly payment the federal government is providing to those receiving state unemployment benefits. This “plus-up” payment is due to expire at the end of July. Lawmakers estimate about 117,000 people will receive the $100 payment.
The House and Senate leaders also plan to spend $100 million to provide housing assistance for up to five months to 34,000 people. Those eligible would receive a $500 monthly subsidy or 50% of their rent, which ever is less, for up to five months starting in August.
Lawmakers last month put $635 million of the $1.25 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds into the state’s rainy day fund when they returned last month. The expect to appropriate that $635 million during the current session, which is scheduled to end on July 10.
The most important use of $635,000,000 funds is to initiate testing of incoming passengers before they board an airplane bound for the Hawaiian Islands.
Each island may also conduct testing of visitors from the island of their arrival if they are island hopping.
This is the method of testing in Thailand, where I was required to have a Covid-19 test before flying to Macau to return my grandson to his father – because Thailand would not receive an incoming passenger unless they had a Covid-19 test and health insurance of a sufficient amount to cover in the event of Covid-19 symptoms.
The test in Bangkok was $250. That’s peanuts for the safety of each passenger and every Hawaiian who must cater to the tourist industry.
Logically it is most efficient to know the infected passenger before they get on the plane, demanding a test result from 48 hours prior to boarding for the Hawaiian Islands. Testing is free on mainland in most counties. LA County is testing 60,000 individuals for free each day.
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