STAND. COM. REP. NO.1387

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2001

RE: S.B. No. 1029

S.D. 3

H.D. 2

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred S.B. No. 1029, S.D. 3, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TOURISM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to:

(1) Establish the Convention Center Facility Reserve Special Fund

(2) Change the composition of the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) board of directors to have a total of 14 members;

(3) Require HTA to support the efforts of other state and county departments or agencies to manage, improve, and protect Hawaii's natural environment and areas frequented by visitors;

(4) Distribute 17.3 per cent of Transient Accomodations Tax (TAT) revenues to be deposited into the Convention Center Facility Reserve Special Fund;

(5) Specify that if the amount of TAT revenues deposited into the Tourism Special Fund exceeds the amount appropriated to HTA and DBEDT's Visitor Research Program for fiscal year 2001-2002 and fiscal year 2002-2003, then all revenues collected in excess of that amount is to expended by HTA with 50 percent to expand, promote, and diversify Hawaii business tourism and 50 percent to invest in Hawaii's natural environment;

(6) Appropriate an unspecified amount for the Tourism Special Fund; and

(7) Appropriate out of the Enterprise Special Fund, $42,800,000 for fiscal year 2001-2002 and $42,400,000 for fiscal year 2002-2003; provided that $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2001-2002 and $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2002-2003 shall be deposited into the Convention Center Facility Reserve Special Fund to pay for any future major repair, maintenance, and improvement of the Convention Center Facility.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority, Hawaii Hotel Association, and an individual submitted testimony in support of this bill. Hawaii Attractions Association and Retail Merchants of Hawaii submitted testimony in support of the intent of this bill. The Department of Business, Economic Development (DBEDT), and Tourism, Department of Land and Natural Resources, Office of Information Practices, County of Kauai Office of Economic Development, Tax Foundation of Hawaii, Trust for Public Land, Waikiki Improvement Association, and Hawaii Chapter of the Sierra Club submitted comments on this bill.

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Deleting section 11 of the bill received by your Committee that specifies that any TAT revenues beyond the amount appropriated to HTA and DBEDT's visitor research program for fiscal years 2001-2003 and 2002-2003 be equally distributed to expand Hawaii business tourism and to invest in Hawaii's natural environment;

(2) Changing the appropriations from the Convention Center Enterprise Special Fund to $41,782,012 each for fiscal years 2001-2002, and 2002-2003;

(3) Specifying that the appropriation from the Tourism Special Fund is $65,000,000 each for fiscal years 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 for purposes of the Fund;

(4) Adding new appropriations of $2,000,000 each for fiscal years 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 from the Tourism Special Fund to expand Hawaii business tourism; and

(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for purposes of style and clarity.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1029, S.D. 3, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1029, S.D. 3, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,

____________________________

DWIGHT Y. TAKAMINE, Chair