Rental assistance fell victim to politics, bureaucracy

Hawaiʻi spent around $71 million of the $100 million initially promised, though an analysis by the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice found the state spent the most per capita, at $44.50. Still, the legislature set a late December deadline for the spending, which meant the remaining $29 million had to be redirected to the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund.

“It would have been better to base the ending of the program on the CARES Act spending deadline with whatever extensions were enacted, because ultimately the deadline was extended,” said Gavin Thornton, the center’s executive director. “If that had been done, the program would have continued, and landlords and tenants would have been able to continue to access those funds, which were certainly needed.”