(BIVN) – A new emergency proclamation signed today by Mayor Harry Kim temporarily suspends the Hawaiʻi County plastic bag reduction law, as well as waives several deadlines for commercial haulers. The new supplementary proclamation also clarifies that the April 9 Real Property Tax Appeal deadline is not suspended.

Some grocery store owners wanted to suspend the plastic bag reduction rules out of concern for the possible spread of the coronavirus in stores.

“The reason for the temporary suspension of the ban on single-use plastic bags is to discourage the introduction of germs or the virus into stores that could be present on personal reusable bags,” the office of the mayor wrote in a media release. “Local stores will continue to use paper bags as a priority while their supplies last; plastic bags may be used for greater volume or wetter items.”

The County of Hawaiʻi added:

The Third Supplementary Emergency Proclamation also waives several deadlines as they relate to commercial haulers. The proclamation waives the permit expiration deadlines for a commercial haulers’ permit, the deadline for submission of a residential credit claim, and the requirement for interest billing. The deadline for an owner whose property is accessible to a public sewer to connect to the public sewer is also extended.

The Proclamation clarifies that the Real Property Tax Appeal deadline is not suspended; the April 9, 2020 deadline for Appeals still stands. The Real Property Tax Appeal deadline remains the same so as not to negatively affect the certification of property values and the budgetary process.

The Third Supplemental Emergency Proclamation will continue for 60 days, to May 30, 2020, or until further action by the Mayor’s Office.

The full text of the mayor’s Third Supplementary Emergency Proclamation can be found here.