HONOLULU (KHON2) — Gov. David Ige held a news conference on Tuesday to talk about how American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds are being distributed statewide.
“We were able to allocate $1.6 billion provided to the state,” said Ige. “Nothing will be returned to federal government.”
The governor said Hawaii’s share of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan signed by President Joe Biden gave much-needed breathing room to put off further layoffs and furloughs, as well as to provide relief to critical programs.
Ige shared how the ARPA funds were allocated below:
- $84 million to Emergency Medical Services and injury prevention
- $60 million to Hawaii Tourism Authority
- $48 million to the Hawaii Dept. of Public Safety to strengthen COVID response in facilities statewide
- $41 million to Hawaii Safe Travels program
- $28 million to University of Hawaii
- $32 million to support state hospital systems
- $16 million to Hawaii Health Systems Corporation
- $11 million to Hawaii Convention Center to continue operations
- $10.8 million to homeless services
- $8 million to Hawaii State Department of Health for administrative needs and costs
- $6.5 million in benefits to eligible residents, serving approximately 300,000 people
- $5 million to Green Job Youth Corps program to fund up to 1,000 residents who want to pursue careers in conservation
- $1.5 million to support senior centers
The list is not exhaustive, Ige said. In December, the governor went through his Executive Supplemental Budget for 2021-23, which calls for increased funding for critical services in response to the ongoing pandemic. Click here to see the budget highlights provided by Ige’s office.
See below for the entire FY 2023 Executive Supplemental Budget:
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“We continue to be committed, and I appreciate everyone’s willingness to sacrifice personal requirements on behalf of our community and recognizing that we all have a role to play, as we proceed to live with COVID-19,” said Ige.
