Report Title:

County Resource User and Environmental Impact Fees; Cruise Ships

Description:

Allows counties to impose resource user fee and environmental impact fees on cruise ship owners based on $     per 500 disembarking passengers.  Restricts use of fees to areas directly affected by tourism.  Requires prior legislative approval before county may impose fees.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2472
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to county fees.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  Chapter 46, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§46-    Cruise ship passengers; environmental and impact fees; amounts; usage of fees; prior legislative approval required. (a)  A county may impose, subject to subsection (e), a resource user fee and an environmental impact fee on the owner of a cruise ship carrying passengers if the cruise ship is berthed in waters of the county within a harbor, at a pier, or otherwise docked in the county.

(b)  The amount of the:

(1) Resource user fee shall be based on the ratio of $       per every five hundred passengers; and

(2) Environmental impact fee shall be based on the ratio of $       per every five hundred passengers

who disembark from the cruise ship while the ship is in the county on each complete cruise ship voyage.

(c)  The resource user fee shall be used to offset county expenses incurred for the provision of direct services to passengers of the cruise ship, including but not limited to police, transportation, emergency medical, rescue and evacuation, and other services provided by entities or personnel employed by the county using county resources.

(d)  All fees imposed and collected pursuant to this section shall be used solely in areas of the county that are identified by the county as being directly affected by the visitor industry.

(e)  A county is prohibited from imposing the fees under this section unless first authorized by the legislature through a separate legislative act."

     SECTION 2.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 3.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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