STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1616

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.B. No. 997

H.D. 1

S.D. 2

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 997, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS TAX,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to facilitate the implementation of existing and expanded Hawaii tourism authority programs.

Specifically, this bill:

(1) Allows moneys in the convention center enterprise special fund and the tourism special fund to be placed in interest-bearing accounts or be appropriately invested;

(2) Authorizes the Hawaii tourism authority to set up a special account in the tourism special fund to receive deposits of non-tax revenues from either public or private contracts;

(3) Removes the $31,000,000 cap on deposit of transient accommodations tax revenues into the convention center enterprise special fund beginning on January 1, 2006;

(4) Increases the percentage of transient accommodations tax revenues to be deposited into the tourism special fund from 32.6 per cent to 35.4 per cent and earmarks 0.5 per cent of that amount to fund a safety and security budget;

(5) Repeals the deposit of 5.3 per cent of revenues from the transient accommodations tax into the transient accommodations tax trust fund;

(6) Requires the distribution of one per cent of the transient accommodations tax revenues as follows:

(A) Ninety per cent for deposit into the state parks special fund; and

(B) Ten per cent for deposit into the special land and development fund for the Hawaii statewide trail and access program;

(7) Requires 1.5 per cent of the transient accommodations tax revenues to be deposited into the general fund;

(8) Repeals the transient accommodations tax trust fund; and

(9) Imposes a transient accommodations tax surcharge upon hotels converting to time sharing plans or to condominiums.

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Inserting statutory text inadvertently omitted in section 6 amending section 201B-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, on page 9, line 20;

(2) Inserting statutory text inadvertently omitted, but meant to be repealed, in section 7 amending section 237D-6.5(b)(2), Hawaii Revised Statutes, on page 12, line 17; and

(3) Making other technical nonsubstantive amendments for clarity and consistency.

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 H.B. No. 997, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 997, H.D. 1, S.D. 2.

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

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair