HONOLULU (KHON2) -- Governor Josh Green says the state will pay about $800 million as part of the lawsuit settlement for the Lahaina wildfires.
He says that won't have any effect on any of the state's other top priorities. He talked about it on Wake Up 2day.
"Just so people understand this is a huge settlement," said Gov. Josh Green. "We will pay close to 20% the state will pay about that."
The settlement agreement is more than $4 billion. So the state's share is about $ 800 million.
Green says that number could've been a lot higher.
"What it will mean is we don't have the better part of a $7, $10, or even $12 billion settlement," said Green. "In the early days of the negotiation the numbers were astronomical and I was able to get it down to $4 billion."
The payout will be over several years, which Green says, will help soften the blow and not take away from other priorities like housing and education.
"The legislature already provided a whole bunch of tax relief, so we're not really looking to increase any type of taxes," said Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
More than $200 million has already been budgeted. Green says he wants to use some money from the state's $900 million lawsuit this May from the makers of the drug Plavix.
Green hopes another revenue generator - some type of "visitor fee."
"I will reiterate my strategy all along from the beginning before the fire was to get some impact fee from travelers to pay for disasters to pay for going forward needs," said Green.
"We've been trying for several years in a row," said Dela Cruz. "If the Attorney General determines there's a way to legally do it, I think there are legislators that are open."
But the most important thing about this settlement - it helps start the recovery process that much sooner.
"I really pressed hard one to get it done so the people didn't have to wait many years in litigation," said Green. "Could take 5-7 years. Also, I wanted to make sure a lot of that money, in fact most of that money stays here in the islands."
"A lot of effort probably needs to focus on, focusing on infrastructure, creating jobs, rebuilding schools, rebuilding facilities, helping people rebuild homes," said Dela Cruz. "That's where we need the energy."