Big Island to get $80M from CARES Act

Because of its population, the City and County of Honolulu is getting a direct infusion of money, around $387 million. The Federal CARES Act provides that local governments with populations of 500,000 or more are eligible for direct aid. The remainder of the federal money for government goes to the state, which is supposed to share 45% of that amount with the local governments smaller than 500,000 people.

Saiki said legislators have agreed that the allocation for neighboring counties will include $80 million to the Big Island, $66 million to Maui County, and $28 million to Kaua’i County.

The legislature is also going to allocate $20 million to the State Department of Transportation for thermal screening, $10 million for the Governor’s Navigator program led by Alan Oshima, and $1.36 million to upgrade the state computer system portal for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, which provides unemployment funding for those who are self-employed. Saiki said $100 million will be allocated to the Department of Defense to fund the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HIEMA) for their work towards COVID-19.

Around $550 million will be put into the State’s Rainy Day Fund.

The federal funding must be spent by the end of the year, or it lapses.