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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 5:55 p.m., Monday, November 5, 2001

Governor officially declares economic emergency

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Capitol Bureau Chief

Gov. Ben Cayetano has signed a bill into law giving him expanded powers during times of an "economic emergency," and has declared such an emergency now exists in Hawai'i.

The emergency proclamation — declared Saturday after Cayetano signed the bill — cited a 200 percent increase in initial unemployment filings from Sept. 16 to Sept. 29 following the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center.

The bill and the declaration mean Cayetano has authority until April 30 to waive or defer any rent or concession payments owed to the state. However, Cayetano spokeswoman Jackie Kido said the governor has not yet used his new powers to benefit any tenants or concessionaires.

Cayetano left for New York City last night to promote Hawai'i at the American Society of Travel Agents 2001 World Congress, and is expected to return to Hawai'i Nov. 14.

DFS Hawai'i, which operates the Duty Free Shopper concessions at state airports, has asked the state to waive the minimum payments it must make under its contract.

Duty Free has four concessions with the state, and its two largest require minimum annual payments to the state totaling more than $69 million.

With arrivals from Japan sinking to 40 percent of last year's levels, the Duty Free business has been badly hurt, and the company says it needs relief from its minimum payments. DFS has proposed the state temporarily eliminate the minimum guarantee and instead charge the company a percentage of its sales.

Other businesses that asked the state to waive or reduce the companies' required payments include the Travelex/Thomas Cook Foreign Exchange, Island Shoppers Inc., HMSHost Corporation, The Business Center, and Greeters of Hawai'i.

The new law requires that to qualify for relief, the companies must have seen their business decline by at least 15 percent since the terrorist attacks.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.