HONOLULU — Last week, Gov. David Ige outlined where the state has allocated its $1.6 billion received last May, from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
The ARPA funds were to be used for emergency response stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“COVID resulted in a global economic shutdown, which had devastating consequences on our state,” Ige said.
“We were forced to cut many programs and services, state workers were at risk of being furloughed, our hospital system was overwhelmed, our tourism industry was shut down, and our economy was on the brink of collapse. At the same time, there was greater demand for essential government services and social-safety nets. ARPA funds helped us pivot,” said Ige.
Funds were divided into three categories: supporting critical services, responding to COVID-19 and promoting economic recovery.
Unemployment
A major portion of ARPA funds supported the state Department of Labor &Industrial Relations’ Unemployment Insurance program, to support and provide a safety net for the thousands of individuals who were without jobs during the pandemic. About $70 million was allocated to the unemployment-insurance call and adjudication center, and $800 million for unemployment insurance loan repayment. Ige said the administration will propose continued support in its upcoming fiscal budget with ARPA funds.
Hospital, public-health response
The state spent a large amount of ARPA funds supporting state hospitals, emergency medical services and COVID-19 response. Funds were split across various health systems across the state, including $32 million to Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation, $84 million to emergency medical services and injury prevention, $16 million to HHSC O‘ahu Region, $2.9 million to Wahiawa Hospital Services, $11 million to Maui Health System hospital subsidy, $10 million for COVID-19 test kits, $8 million to the state Department of Health and COVID administrative support, and $50 million to the state Department of Public Safety to strengthen COVID response.
Visitor, tourism industry
ARPA funds were used to keep the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority intact while the pandemic heavily impacted the visitor industry. HTA used these funds to restructure operations and focus more on promoting more-sustainable tourism to Hawai‘i. Funds were also dedicated to creating the Safe Travels program to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Overall, $60 million was allocated to HTA, with $11 million to the convention center and another $41 million to the Safe Travels Hawai‘i program.
Essential services
ARPA funds were critical in supporting important services for the community, which included $10.8 million to homeless services, $1.5 million to senior centers and $1.3 million for family-health services.
Education
Some $28 million went to the University of Hawai‘i system, and $1.3 million to financial-need scholarships through the Hawai‘i Promise Program.
Infrastructure,
looking ahead
ARPA funds also supported broadband initiatives, which are included in Ige’s supplemental budget request. “The pandemic showed us that there is a huge digital divide in our state, and that access to reliable and high-speed internet is essential for all students and workers,” Ige said. This includes $1.5 million toward broadband infrastructure planning and $2.7 million in modernizing the financial system.
“”We anticipate additional federal funding this year through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed earlier this year, and potentially other federal sources,” Ige said. “We will continue to use these funds to restore and rebuild our state this coming year.”
