LIHU‘E — Gov. David Ige proposed sending out $100 tax rebates to every Hawai‘i taxpayer and dependent in his State of the State address on Monday.
“Given recent revenue projections, we’re asking the Legislature to return some of those dollars to the residents,” Ige said during his eighth and final such address to the state Legislature. “In this way, we will inject 110 million dollars into our economy.”
Ige explained that this proposal would refund a total of $400 for a family of four.
House Speaker Scott Saiki said that this proposal aligned with his priority of providing relief to working families. He, along with other house leaders, expressed that more-substantial policies would be needed to help the state’s working class.
“We want to look at income-tax relief in a broader and more-systemic way,” said Rep. Della Au Belatti.
Ige’s speech, usually given in person, was delivered remotely to limit the spread of COVID-19. Following an abrupt, minute-long silence due to a teleprompter issue, Ige laid out his broad goals for the coming year.
One of his proposals was a $400 million investment in all-inclusive broadband infrastructure through a combination of federal and state resources. In his 2021 State of the State, Ige focused on the importance of equity across the islands through internet access.
“If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is about the crucial role that the internet plays in all of our daily lives,” said Ige. “That’s why we are leveraging state resources to maximize federal funding for broadband and proposing the largest investment in technology in our state’s history.”
He reported that, largely due to an increase in tax revenue, the state was expecting to see a $1 billion surplus that could replenish the rainy-day fund.
Senate President Ron Kouchi said before the speech that he was not in favor of putting this much money aside.
“Whether it’s for things like mental-health services, homelessness issues that have been exacerbated during COVID or in the production of more affordable housing, we need to deploy some of that money and make a bigger financial commitment,” Kouchi said.
A key part of the ongoing pandemic response, Ige said, would be to improve the health-care infrastructure by expanding residency opportunities for doctors and nurses and allocating $45 million to build a health-care unit at Halawa Correctional Facility on O‘ahu.
The governor said he hoped to revive discussions on the creation of a universal preschool system that were halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and proposed that $80 million be distributed to support child-care centers.
Ige also addressed environmental issues, saying that he hoped to close the state’s last coal plant and reaffirm the goal of net-negative carbon emissions by 2045.
Ige closed his speech out by emphasizing resilience through the pandemic.
“I see a Hawai‘i that has been tested and tested over and over again,” Ige said. “We may have bent, but we did not break.”
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Guthrie Scrimgeour, reporter, can be reached at 647-0329 or gscrimgeour@thegardenisland.com.
