HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii’s lawmakers are wrapping up a legislative session marked by a generous influx of federal aid that helped the islands weather the shock of the coronavirus pandemic.
Lawmakers began the session in January with the news that Congress had appropriated $1.6 billion to Hawaii as part of a coronavirus relief package.
The House and Senate used nearly half of the federal funds to pay back $700 million the state borrowed from the federal government to pay unemployment insurance claims.
They appropriated $313 million to repay another loan the state took out to pay employee salaries when tax revenue tanked.
