STAND. COM. REP. NO. 902

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                

 

RE:    S.B. No. 1117

       S.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1117, S.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION TO THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR RELATING TO COVID-19 EXPENDITURES,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to make an emergency appropriation to the Office of the Governor to address the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

 

     More specifically, this measure:

 

     (1)  Appropriates an unspecified sum for fiscal year 2020‑2021 to supplement the continuation of COVID-19 response programs and activities; and

 

     (2)  Authorizes the Governor to transfer those funds to other executive agencies or the Governor's contingency fund.

 

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance and Hawaii Primary Care Association.

 

     Your Committee finds that the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Public Law 116-136, provided federal funds to support state-level COVID-19 relief efforts.  With the expiration of these federal moneys, your Committee finds that this measure provides additional funds needed to continue funding critical COVID-19 response programs for the remainder of fiscal year 2020-2021.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Providing that moneys appropriated to the Office of the Governor pursuant to the measure shall not be expended unless the Governor first:

 

          (A)  Establishes a task force to develop recommendations on the roles and responsibilities of the Department of the Attorney General and county police departments in the enforcement of emergency rules or orders issued by the Governor and the counties to address the COVID-19 pandemic, and requires the task force to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Legislature by an unspecified date; and

 

          (B)  Issues, by emergency order, a statewide multi-tier system to address the COVID-19 pandemic; provided that the system shall be deployed at the county level and shall include clear metrics for each tier that address types of businesses that are authorized to be open, types of activities that are allowable, any in-person gathering restrictions, and any other pandemic-related policies and rules;

 

     (2)  Appropriating an unspecified sum for fiscal year 2021‑2022 to the Department of the Attorney General for enforcement of COVID-19-related emergency orders and rules; and

 

     (3)  Making technical nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1117, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1117, S.D. 2.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

 

 

 

________________________________

DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair