Flush revenue leads means funds for Native Hawaiian programs
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii lawmakers are on course to commit $600 million to a long-underfunded program providing housing and land leases to Native Hawaiians as they wrap up the current legislative session this week.
The allocations come after Hawaii tourism and state tax revenues rebounded from a COVID-19 pandemic crash. Lawmakers had a $2 billion general fund surplus this year instead of a massive revenue shortfall.
In accordance with Hawaii law, they’re giving some of the bounty directly to taxpayers: $300 will go to individuals who earned less than $100,000 a year in 2021 and to couples who earned less than $200,000. Individuals and couples who earned more than those amounts will receive $100.
