Recovery roadmap, open for business, household relief, budget bills passed, COVID-19 hearing tomorrow
May 19, 2020
Aloha Neighbor,
We are entering the 14th week since the pandemic came to our state in late February. With everyone working hard to safeguard against the traveling virus, we have stabilized — three reported new cases over the weekend, none today and we have kept our deaths at 17.
WE’RE MOVING FORWARD TOWARD RECOVERY.
State Announces Roadmap to Recovery & Resilience – Governor Ige today (Monday) presented the state roadmap to recovery, starting with stabilization (“stay at home” orders to address major disruption) to resilience (“new normal” when we’ve overcome the pandemic disruption). The roadmap is a good start. We need to press on for the specifics but at least we can see a path forward. For more details, see the slide presentation and watch a recording of the Governor’s press conference.
State Roadmap to Recovery and Resilience
Welcome back: Businesses starting to reopen
Several stores in our district have re-opened and more restaurants are opening their modified dining options of takeout and curbside pickup. See what’s open in our major centers:
Still continuing
The 14-day travel quarantine and eviction moratorium will continue. Medium-risk businesses — churches, gyms, museums, theaters, restaurants and hair salons – not yet open but are expected to reopen in June.
COVID-19 FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE NOW AVAILABLE: Household Hardship Relief Fund
The City’s Household Hardship Relief Fund is now active. Qualified applicants can receive up to $1,000 a month for household expenses and up to $500 for childcare. Visit honolulu.gov for more details. Visit the Aloha United Way application page for instructions on how to apply.
BUDGET BILLS PASS FINAL READING IN SENATE
The Senate adopted four budget bills today. With agreement by the House, the bills are expected to be on the Governor’s desk for signature this week. The Senate Ways and Means Committee worked closely with the House Finance Committee to craft a budget to address the projected revenue shortfall. The bills:
Defer pay increases for the executive, judiciary and legislative branches (H.B. No. 117, S.D. 1);
Provide bond-funded capital improvement projects (CIP), including several projects in our district that were documented in an earlier email, and “shovel-ready” projects to stimulate the economy and put our construction industry to work building vital state infrastructure (H.B. No. 2725, H.D. 1, S.D. 1);
Authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds to fund the CIP budget, (H.B. No. 1631, S.D. 1); and
SENATE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON COVID-19 MEETING
The committee meets tomorrow (Tuesday) at 2:30 pm. We will hear updates on the travel safeguard procedures from Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard; Angela Keen, Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii (VASH); Kathy Sokugawa, City Dept. of Planning and Permitting; Attorney General Clare Connors; Chris Tatum, Hawaii Tourism Authority; and Ford Fuchigami, Department of Transportation-Airports. Check here before the hearing for the Olelo broadcast schedule.
