Disaster recovery bill passes committee

A bill providing Hawaii County $60 million for disaster recovery passed the House Finance Committee on Thursday.

The bill will next be sent to the House floor for third reading before being submitted to the Senate.

Introduced by Rep. Joy San Buenaventura and five other representatives, House Bill 1180 would provide $40 million in loans and $20 million in grants to the county for “disaster damage losses and suffering” from last year’s Kilauea eruption on the lower East Rift Zone.

The eruption destroyed 716 homes and has left dozens of others isolated.

Two other disaster funding bills introduced in the Senate have been referred to the Ways and Means Committee.
Source: Hawaii Tribune Herald