STAND. COM. REP. NO. 903

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 915

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Public Safety, Government Operations, and Military Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 915, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CONVEYANCE TAX,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to require the Director of Taxation to provide to the administrator of each county's real property assessment division, without charge, an image of all certificates of conveyance that were filed, along with certain information.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Taxation, City and County of Honolulu Department of Budget and Fiscal Services, and County of Maui Department of Finance.

     Your Committee finds that this measure would enable the counties to promptly track ownership, encumbrances, restrictions, uses, and sale prices of real property for the purpose of determining real property tax assessments.  The current method, whereby the city makes weekly pickups of the printed certificates from the Department of Taxation, is not efficient and would be greatly improved with electronic data transfers of the conveyance certificates filed with the Bureau of Conveyances.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by replacing its contents with S.B. No. 655, S.D. 1, a substantively similar measure that:

     (1)  Inserts an effective date of July 1, 2050, to allow for further discussion; and

     (2)  Makes technical, nonsubstantive amendments to the original measure for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety, Government Operations, and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 915, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 915, 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 Public Safety, Government Operations, and Military Affairs,

____________________________

WILL ESPERO, Chair