STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1075

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 960

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Tourism, to which was referred H.B. No. 960, H.D. 2, entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to expand the description of a tourism emergency to include a regional or worldwide economic crisis.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Tourism Authority, the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, Destinations Resorts Hawaii, the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa, Hawaii Hotel and Lodging Association, the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, Retail Merchants of Hawaii, Outrigger Hotels, and Hilton Hawaii.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual.

     Written testimony presented to the Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

     Your Committee finds that tourism is one of the primary economic engines of the State.  Transferring the research and statistics duties from the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to the Hawaii Tourism Authority will provide cohesiveness in the administration of tourism expansion.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Replacing "regional or worldwide economic crisis" with "national or global" economic crisis;

     (2)  Transferring the research and statistics duties from the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to the Hawaii Tourism Authority; and

     (3)  Changing the effective date to "upon approval".

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Tourism that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 960, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 960, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

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

____________________________

CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair