COVID-19 budget moves out for passage, but not without controversy

The allocations of the federal aid money drew criticism from social service agencies while the process of adopting the budget measure, using a method called gut-and-replace, riled others.

“Families could’ve used more help with food and many have lost their health insurance—the current bill doesn’t address these needs,” said Deborah Zysman, executive director of Hawaiʻi Children’s Action Network in a statement. “Our kūpuna remain vulnerable, and many immigrants still havenʻt received any government support.”

The lawmakers took a bill that had already gone through the public hearing process, Senate Bill 126, then replaced the text with the CARES Act expenditures, critics said. By doing this, the bill did not get the usual public hearing review.

“If we are going to successfully face Hawaiʻi’s complex challenges, we need all of Hawaiʻi’s people contributing to the solutions,” said Gavin Thornton, executive director of the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice. “Our strength is our people. A process like this, which excludes our people, is a recipe for failure.”