Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 2451, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish a convention center enterprise special fund.

In addition, this measure assigns the responsibility to market, operate, manage, and maintain the convention center facility to the Hawaii Tourism Authority; requires the contract for management of the convention center facility to include marketing for all uses of the facility; and formally repeals the previous convention center authority law.

Your Committee finds that after the sunset of the previous convention center law on June 30, 2000, the Governor assigned the control and management of the convention center to the Hawaii Tourism Authority through Executive Order No. 3817, and that this measure formalizes that responsibility by statute. Your Committee finds that formalizing this responsibility will help to ensure the efficient management of the convention center.

Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this measure by capping the transient accommodations tax revenues to be deposited in the newly created convention center enterprise special fund as follows:

This amendment does not change the percentage allocation of transient accommodations tax revenues to the tourism special fund and the counties, but instead provides that of the transient accommodations tax collected revenues to be deposited into the new convention center enterprise special fund, amounts collected in excess of $28,500,000 for calendar years 2002 and 2003 are to be deposited into the general fund, and amounts collected in excess of $29,000,000 for calendar years 2004 and beyond are also to be deposited into the general fund.

Your Committee finds that currently, transient accommodations tax revenues that should be going toward operating the convention center are projected to be $31,000,000 for one year. The convention center also anticipates generating approximately $9,000,000 in other sources of revenues from operating the center, bringing the total anticipated revenues to $40,000,000.

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. 2451, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2451, S.D. 2.