Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection, to which was referred H.B. No. 1848 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to help preserve Hawaii's natural beauty by providing property owners a tax incentive to maintain any tree on their property designated as an exceptional tree.

The Conservation Council for Hawaii; Arbor Global, LLC; Malama o Manoa; Kona Outdoor Circle; Na Leo Pohai; Sierra Club, Hawaii Chapter; Hawaii Audubon Society; and four concerned individuals testified in support of this bill. The Department of Taxation opposed this measure. The Tax Foundation of Hawaii provided comments.

Your Committee finds that the majority of exceptional trees are on public lands. Each county can designate exceptional trees through an arborist committee established for each county under Act 105 (Session Laws of Hawaii, 1975). Furthermore, the tax deduction is not necessarily a yearly deduction, but a deduction for tree maintenance that may be expected every three to five years.

Your Committee respectfully requests that your Committee on Finance investigate the financial impact and aggregate costs of this measure on the Department of Taxation. Of approximately 970 exceptional trees listed, 65, or 6.7 percent, are currently located on private property in the State.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1848 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Finance.