STAND

STAND. COM. REP. 2924

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: H.B. No. 2608

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Tourism and Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 2608, H.D. 1, entitled:

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

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Allow the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) to retain its own attorney independent of the Attorney General;

(2) Allow 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) Exempt the executive director of HTA from the state retirement system;

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

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

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

(8) Appropriate $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.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Hawaii Tourism Authority and Hawaii Hotel & Lodging Association. Testimony in opposition was received from the Department of Accounting and General Services, Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, and the Attorney General (AG) with regards to the hiring attorneys.

The intent of this measure is to improve the overall efficiency of the HTA by increasing its autonomy and making up for shortfall funding.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that private attorneys may be hired only in cases of contract negotiations where the AG lacks sufficient expertise, and that the private attorney is to work with the designated deputy attorney general assigned to the HTA; and

(2) Changing the effective date to upon approval and changing the sunset date to June 30, 2007.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Tourism and Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2608, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2608, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Tourism and Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________ COLLEEN HANABUSA, Chair		____________________________ DONNA MERCADO KIM, Chair