§127A-16 Major disaster fund. (a) The administrator shall submit requests to the legislature to appropriate from the general revenues of the State sufficient moneys as may be necessary for expenditure by or under the direction of the governor for immediate relief in response to an emergency or disaster in any part of the State; provided that:
(1) The governor has issued a proclamation of a state of emergency;
(2) The governor may not expend in excess of $10,000,000 for immediate relief as a result of any single emergency or disaster; and
(3) In addition to the funds in paragraph (2), an additional $5,000,000 may be made available solely for the purpose of matching federal disaster relief funds when these funds become available to the State following a presidential disaster declaration.
In expending the moneys, the governor may allot any portion thereof to any agency, office, or employee of the State or a county for the most efficient relief for the population. Notwithstanding this subsection, the only exception to paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) is that the administrator may use up to $250,000 per year to support the emergency management reserve corps.
(b) No later than sixty days after any allotment by the governor or the expenditure of any fund moneys, the administrator shall report to the legislature on the purpose of the allotment or expenditure.
(c) Except as provided in subsection (d), federal reimbursement moneys for disaster relief shall be deemed to be trust moneys and may be deposited into a trust account with and under the control of the Hawaii emergency management agency. These moneys and any interest earned thereon shall be used for the purpose identified in subsection (a) and shall not lapse to the general fund.
(d) In cases in which the department of education expends the funds appropriated to the department for purposes deemed to be reimbursable by federal reimbursement moneys for disaster relief, the federal reimbursement moneys shall not lapse to the general fund and shall be credited directly to the department of education without regard to whether the original appropriation has lapsed. Such funds shall carry over in accordance with section 37-41.5(c).
(e) Any unspent funding under $2,500,000 shall be rolled over to the next fiscal year to support future emergencies and disasters. [L 2014, c 111, pt of §2; am L 2015, c 129, §2; am L 2017, c 139, §2; am L 2019, c 78, §4]