STAND. COM. REP. NO.  453

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2013

RE:   H.B. No. 1340

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Tourism, to which was referred H.B. No. 1340 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to remove the $71,000,000 cap on the amount which may be deposited into the Tourism Special Fund from Transient Accommodations Tax revenues.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority and Outrigger Hotels Hawaii supported this measure.  The Department of Finance of the County of Kauai opposed this measure.  The Department of Taxation and the Tax Foundation of Hawaii offered comments on this measure.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 2020, to promote further discussion.

     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. 1340, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1340, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

TOM BROWER, Chair