STAND. COM. REP. NO.1534

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2001

RE: H.B. No. 269

H.D. 1

S.D. 2

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 269, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TOURISM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to temporarily assign responsibility for the Hawaii Convention Center Facility to the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

Specifically, this bill:

(1) Establishes a Convention Center Enterprise Special Fund in the Hawaii Tourism Authority;

(2) Increases the number and makeup of voting members of the Hawaii Tourism Authority board and clarifies that this is a policymaking board;

(3) Assigns the responsibility to market, operate, manage, and maintain the Hawaii Convention Center Facility to the Hawaii Tourism Authority;

(4) Requires legislative notice for Hawaii Tourism Authority contracts over $25,000;

(5) Effective July 1, 2001, from the tourism accommodations tax revenues:

(A) Allocates $1,000,000 to the State Parks Special Fund;

(B) Caps Hawaii Tourism Authority funding at $60,000,000, annually (rather than depositing 37.9 per cent of tourism accommodations tax revenues);

(C) Of the balance, allocates:

(i) 24 per cent to the Convention Center Enterprise Special Fund (rather than 17.3 per cent into the Convention Center Capital and Operations Special Fund); and

(ii) 64 per cent (rather than 44.8 per cent) to the counties and limiting 50 per cent of additional revenues to counties to be spent on tourism activities;

(6) Repeals the Hawaii Tourism Authority law, effective June 30, 2003; and

(7) Requires the Auditor to conduct a financial audit of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, and to report back to the Legislature before the convening of the 2002 Regular Session.

Your Committee received testimony from the Kapaa Business Association in opposition to this bill.

Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this bill to:

(1) Change the distribution of tourism accommodation tax revenues, effective July 1, 2001;

(2) Change the distribution of tourism accommodations tax revenues, specified in H.B. No. 269, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, as follows:

(A) From 24 per cent to 25 per cent for deposit into the Convention Center Enterprise Special Fund; and

(B) From 64 per cent to 65 per cent to the counties;

(C) The remaining 10 per cent (by default) to the general fund;

(3) Remove the provision requiring 50 per cent of increases in county allocations of tourism accommodations tax revenues to be used for tourism activities; and

(4) Technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and style and to conform with language in the Hawaii Revised Statutes.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 269, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 269, H.D. 1, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair