MEDIA RELEASE

Gov. Neil Abercrombie has signed two bills into law; one to fund the operations of the Executive Branch for the rest of the fiscal year and another to provide for the payment of interest on loans from the federal government.

Senate Bill 1286 provides $1,423,750 in emergency funding for the Offices of the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor to continue operations until June 30, 2011.

The appropriation brings the total amount for the Governor for FY 2010-2011 to $2,747,631 in general funds.

This amount is less than the $3,176,357 budgeted for the Office of the Governor for the prior fiscal year.

House Bill 1077 provides for the collection of a surtax to pay the interest on loans from the federal government used for the state’s unemployment fund.

Interest payments that are waived by the federal government will be applied to the 2012 Employment and Training fund assessment for business.