STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1072

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2013

RE:   S.B. No. 1166

      S.D. 1

      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 Water & Land, to which was referred S.B. No. 1166, S.D. 1, entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to increase the conveyance tax rate on transactions involving certain high-value properties and to direct the increased revenues to the Rental Housing Trust Fund and the Natural Area Reserve Fund by increasing the respective portions of conveyance tax revenues allocated to those funds.

The Department of Agriculture; Department of Taxation; Department of Land and Natural Resources; Big Island Invasive Species Committee; The Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i; Catholic Charities Hawaii; Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species; Hawai‘i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice; The Trust for Public Land; Ulupono Initiative; Partners in Care; Leeward Housing Coalition; Sierra Club, Hawai‘i Chapter; Windward Ahupua‘a Alliance; Hawaii Green Growth Initiative; Hawaii Invasive Species Council; Oahu Invasive Species Committee; Hawaii Conservation Alliance; and numerous individuals submitted testimony in support of this measure.  Hawai‘i Association of REALTORS, The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, BIA-Hawaii, Hawaii Hunting Association, NAIOP Hawaii, the Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii, and several individuals submitted testimony in opposition to this measure.  One individual submitted comments.  

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Increasing the portion of conveyance tax proceeds allocated to the Rental Housing Trust Fund to 40 percent; and

     (2)  Increasing the portion of conveyance tax proceeds allocated to the Natural Area Reserve Fund to 35 percent.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water & Land that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1166, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1166, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water & Land,

____________________________

CINDY EVANS, Chair