News Release from Hawai'i House of Representatives, May 18, 2020
The House today passed SB 75 SD2 HD1 to allocate $1.25 billion in federal CARES Act funds to support our counties in providing benefits for their residents and to fund our State government’s health response during this global coronavirus pandemic and economic meltdown.
SB 75 earmarks specific portions of the CARES Act funds to be distributed among the four counties to provide for their residents’ immediate needs such as food and rent support, and to give State departments specific funding for their virus containment response needs such as airport screening, contact tracing, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for hospitals.
The state is looking to the counties to use the CARE Act funds before they expire at the end of the year to provide families with basic living support programs while the state deals with the larger financial issues.