Green quantifies emergency funding request related to Maui fire disaster

Mar. 7—Gov. Josh Green has let the state Legislature know how big an emergency funding appropriation he believes is needed to pay Maui wildfire recovery costs through June 30.

Gov. Josh Green has let the state Legislature know how big an emergency funding appropriation he believes is needed to pay Maui wildfire recovery costs through June 30.

In a memo dated Friday but received by lawmakers Tuesday, Green is seeking $362 million.

The sum includes $65 million to compensate families of people who died, and people who suffered serious injuries, in the Aug. 8 fire if they forego litigation against the state, Maui County and several private entities participating with the state in a $175 million victims fund.

Green proposes to have his requested $362 million appropriation adopted via Senate Bill 582, which the governor recommends for "immediate " passage.

The bill, however, is still a blank appropriation measure despite much discussion in recent weeks between a key Senate committee and top officials in Green's administration dealing with the budget and wildfire recovery spending.

Prior hazy estimates over what might be needed to cover state expenses for the current fiscal year that ends June 30 have led lawmakers in both the Senate and House to propose clawing back prior large appropriations, including $400 million to redevelop Aloha Stadium, raiding money in special funds and restricting the spending of every state department by 10 % or 15 %.

Meanwhile, the state has about $1.5 billion in an emergency budget reserve fund and an estimated $1 billion general fund cash balance expected at the end of June.

On Friday, the Senate Ways and Means Committee passed SB 582 with a blank emergency appropriation, and amended the measure to authorize the director of the state Department of Budget and Finance to transfer about $37 million from about 30 special state funds and accounts to the general fund.

The biggest suggested transfer is $11 million from a Hawai 'i Convention Center special enterprise fund. Other suggested transfers include about $2 million each from funds for beach restoration, ocean recreation, agricultural loans, wage claims and safe routes to school. The smallest suggested transfer is $11, 881 from a milk control fund.

Green in December used his emergency powers to sweep together $164 million to cover disaster expenses for the current fiscal year from unused appropriations for other things, including a planned $64 million fix to the convention center's leaking roof.

The governor also previously tapped $30 million from a discretionary fund and $5 million in the state's major disaster fund. But the combined $199 million that Green anticipated in December would be enough to cover wildfire expenses has been far exceeded by unanticipated expenses largely stemming from housing wildfire survivors who are not eligible for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The state last month began having to pay $1, 000 a day for hotel lodging, food and services per FEMA-­ineligible household, which initially was for about 1, 000 households and has since dropped to under 700, reducing a total daily expense from about $1 million to under $700, 000.

Some ineligible households are undocumented immigrants and migrants under the Compacts of Free Association with three Pacific Island nations.

Because FEMA has been agreeing to cover more fire survivors, including condominium owners, as the state also works to move more households out of hotels into less expensive accommodations, worst-case expense scenarios presented to the Ways and Means Committee have been coming down in recent weeks.

Still, some lawmakers are frustrated with the Green administration for not having better cost projections sooner, and waiting until only recently to request $65 million for the fire victims fund called the One Ohana Fund, which began accepting applications Friday after Green announced the plan in November.

"We should have known earlier, " Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole (D, Kaneohe-­Kailua ) said during a Feb. 29 briefing. "We have no idea what the impacts are right now."

On Tuesday, the full Senate voted 25-0 to send the latest draft of SB 582 over to the House for consideration.