STAND. COM. REP. 894

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 1462

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Tourism and Culture, to which was referred S.B. No. 1462 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAII TOURISM AUTHORITY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to promote the development of sports-related tourism in Hawaii by requiring the Board of Directors (Board) of the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) to appoint a Sports Coordinator to provide management services for all sporting events supported through HTA. In addition, this bill appropriates funds for the establishment of one full-time equivalent Sports Coordinator position within HTA.

HTA supported the intent of this bill.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Authorizing, rather than requiring, the Board of HTA to appoint a Sports Coordinator;

(2) Deleting the appropriation for the establishment of the Sports Coordinator position;

(3) Clarifying that the designated representative on the Board of HTA for the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, the Director of Transportation, and the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources shall be an employee of these respective departments;

(4) Increasing from 3.5 percent to 5 percent the maximum amount of moneys in the Tourism Special Fund (TSF) that shall be used to meet administrative expenses;

(5) Requiring that the compensation package for the Executive Director of HTA shall not exceed 9 percent of the 5 percent of TSF monies authorized for administrative expenses under this bill; currently, the compensation package cannot exceed 15 percent of the 3.5 percent of TSF moneys authorized for administrative expenses;

(6) Exempting HTA from the provisions of chapter 38, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), relating to deposits of public funds, and chapter 40, HRS, relating to audits and accounting;

(7) Clarifying that notification to the Legislature of any contract or agreement valued at $25,000 and over shall take place upon the execution of that contract or agreement;

(8) Requiring HTA to deposit funds in the Convention Center Enterprise Special Fund (CCESF) into interest-bearing accounts in any depository within the State, and specifying that all interest accruing from the investment of these moneys shall be credited to the CCESF;

(9) Establishing that disbursements from the CCESF and TSF shall be drawn upon checks prepared and signed as approved by the Executive Director of HTA or the designee of the Executive Director authorized by the Board of HTA, and a member of the Board of HTA authorized by the Board of HTA;

(10) Depositing all interest and any revenues or receipts derived by HTA from any project or project agreement into the TSF;

(11) Requiring that funds in the TSF shall be deposited into interest-bearing accounts or otherwise invested by HTA until such time as the funds may be needed;

(12) Requiring HTA to engage the services of a certified public accountant to conduct an annual audit of HTA's financial affairs, and to submit the audit report to the Governor and Legislature prior to each Regular Session;

(13) Providing for a sunset date of June 30, 2006, for amendments contained in this bill, with the exception of the audit report provisions under (12); and

(14) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of style and clarity.

Your Committee recognizes the importance of financial accountability on the part of HTA. In addition to the provisions for financial audits conducted in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) required by this measure, your Committee believes that HTA itself should make every effort to comply with GAAP for its own accounting processes.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Tourism and Culture that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1462, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1462, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Tourism and Culture,

 

____________________________

JERRY L. CHANG, Chair