STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO.2641

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: S.B. No. 2421

S.D. 2

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 S.B. No. 2421, 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 improve the operation of the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

To this end, this measure:

(1) Increases and clarifies the membership of the Hawaii Tourism Authority board and clarifies that it is a policy-making board;

(2) Expands the board's duties to include assistance with state policies relating to natural resources infrastructure;

(3) Requires legislative notice for contracts over $25,000;

(4) Requires the Auditor to periodically audit all contracts over $15,000,000 awarded by Authority; and

(5) Specifically limits the Executive Director's salary from exceeding fifteen per cent of the three per cent allowed for the Authority's administrative costs.

Your Committee agrees that increasing the membership of the Authority's board to reflect the diverse nature of the tourism industry will strengthen the board's ability to respond to an increasingly sophisticated and competitive global tourism market. The other provisions of this bill will also help to ensure that the Hawaii Tourism Authority performs more efficiently and in a financially and programmatically accountable manner.

Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended section 4 of this bill, currently written as uncodified session law material, to codify it in chapter 23, Hawaii Revised Statutes, for ease of reference because the audit requirements contained in section 4 are intended to be permanent and ongoing.

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 S.B. No. 2421, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2421, S.D. 2.

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

		____________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair