STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 769-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: H.B. No. 2608

H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 2608 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 improve the overall efficiency of the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA). Among other things, this bill:

(1) Allows HTA to retain its own attorney independent of the Attorney General (AG) until June 30, 2006;

(2) Allows HTA to have control over its own accounts, thereby giving it the same standing as the Department of Education and the University of Hawaii;

(3) Exempts the executive director of HTA from the state retirement system;

(4) Increases the limit to be used for HTA's administrative expenses from 3.5 to 5 percent of the Tourism Special Fund (Fund);

(5) Changes HTA's executive director's compensation package formula to not exceed 9 percent of the 5 percent of Fund moneys authorized for administrative expenses, rather than 15 percent of the 3.5 percent authorized;

(6) Authorizes the hiring of a sports coordinator to provide management services for all sporting events supported through HTA;

(7) Specifies that all interest and revenues or receipts derived by HTA from any project or project agreements shall be deposited into the Fund; and

(8) Appropriates $8,000,000 from the Fund to enable HTA to correct a fiscal shortfall caused by the requirement that HTA fund 18 months of a HVCB contract with 12 months of funding.

The Hawaii Hotel & Lodging Association submitted testimony in support of this measure. The Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and Department of Accounting and General Services opposed this measure. The Department of the AG opposed the bill in part.

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Clarifying the business and commercial areas for which attorneys may be contracted to provide legal services for the HTA;

(2) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2010, to facilitate further discussion;

(3) Making technical amendments to the other effective date provisions of the bill; and

(4) Making other technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

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 H.B. No. 2608, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2608, H.D. 1.

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

		____________________________ DWIGHT Y. TAKAMINE, Chair