SB617.DOC

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Hawaii's beaches are important and unique components of the array of natural resources that make our islands a special place for our residents and an attractive destination for visitors. Recent studies by researchers at the University of Hawaii indicate that our beaches are disappearing at an alarming rate, with 70 per cent of beaches undergoing chronic erosion, over thirteen miles of beach completely lost to erosion, and inappropriate shoreline development over the past century. Because of the growing demand for the use of beaches, we need to reinvest in our beaches as one of our important and valuable natural resources and conserve and restore these important assets by more efficiently distributing our limited financial resources.

The purpose of this Act is to:

(1) Allocate transient accommodations tax revenues to a beach restoration and conservation special fund;

(2) Effectively develop and implement plans to slow the degradation of our beaches; and

(3) Restore beaches through the coordination of activities involving the counties and the formation of public-private partnerships.

SECTION 2. Section 171-152, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§171-152[]] General powers. (a) In carrying out its functions under this part, the board may do all things necessary, useful, and convenient in connection with the restoration and conservation of beach lands, subject to all applicable laws, and may provide any necessary assistance to any county or nongovernmental organization in the restoration of beach lands so long as the public interest is served; provided that for beach restoration and conservation on privately-owned lands, the board shall be required to obtain authorization from affected property owners.

(b) The board or the board's designee, subject to this chapter and chapters 183C and 205A, shall maintain and manage beach lands restored and conserved pursuant to this part as well as [a] beach restoration [~~plan~~] and conservation plans described in section 171-153, subject to available funds."

SECTION 3. Section 171-153, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§171-153[]] Beach restoration [~~plan.~~] and conservation plans. The department shall prepare and, from time to time, revise plans for the restoration and conservation of beach lands of the State. These plans shall [~~guide~~]:

(1) Guide the board in identifying those beach lands in need of restoration which have been degraded or are threatened as a result of natural or human actions [~~and shall designate~~];

(2) Designate suitable coastal lands for the purpose of generating revenues to carry out the purposes of this section[.];

(3) Include, where appropriate, county participation in the development of beach restoration and conservation plans and on-going maintenance; and

(4) Include, where appropriate, the formation of a private-public partnership for the development and execution of a beach restoration and conservation plan.

In preparing these plans, the department may institute studies pertaining to the need for restoration and conservation of [~~such~~] beach lands and shall consider any plan relating to the restoration and conservation of [~~such~~] beach lands that has been prepared by any federal, state, county, or private agency or entity. The department may also institute other studies as necessary to support the development of beach restoration projects[,] or beach conservation plans that involve more than the nourishment of beaches with sand, including [~~the~~]:

(1) The development of socioeconomic profiles[~~, environmental~~];

(2) Environmental studies pertaining to sand source analysis, and ecological effects of beach restoration[~~, cost-benefit~~];

(3) Cost-benefit analysis for project viability[~~, and~~];

(4) The effect of sea level rise on beaches; and

(5) The coastal engineering studies including [~~data gathering.~~] resource assessment, studies of beach dynamics, land use plans, special management area plans, zoning ordinances, and other laws."

SECTION 4. Section 171-154, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§171-154[]] Authority to lease coastal lands. The board, subject to this chapter, may lease public coastal lands under the board's jurisdiction for the purpose of generating revenues to be deposited into the beach restoration and conservation [[]special[]] fund. Any terms and conditions imposed by the board on the lessee shall run with the land and shall be binding on the lessee's heirs, successors, and assigns. The board may seek enforcement of such terms and conditions in any court of appropriate jurisdiction."

SECTION 5. Section 171-155, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§171-155[]] Development of public coastal lands. On the lands subject to this part, the board may undertake appropriate development to generate revenues for beach restoration which is consistent with this chapter and chapters 183C and 205A and other applicable laws. These revenues shall be deposited in the beach restoration and conservation [[]special[]] fund. For purposes of this section, "development" includes:

(1) Any building or mining operation;

(2) Any material change in use, intensity of use, or appearance of any structure or land, fast or submerged; or

(3) The division of land into two or more parcels."

SECTION 6. Section 171-156, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§171-156[]] Beach restoration and conservation special fund. (a) There is established in the state treasury a special fund to be designated as the "beach restoration and conservation special fund" to carry out the purposes of this part. The following moneys shall be deposited into the beach restoration and conservation special fund:

(1) Proceeds from the lease or development of public coastal lands designated pursuant to a beach restoration or conservation plan, subject to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920, as amended, and section 5(f) of the Admission Act of 1959;

(2) Proceeds from the lease of public lands pursuant to this part for an existing [~~seawall or revetment;~~] shoreline structure;

(3) Fines collected for unauthorized shoreline structures on state submerged land or conservation district land;

(4) Appropriations made by the legislature for deposit into this fund;

(5) Donations [~~and~~], contributions [~~made by~~], and matching funds to carry out beach restoration and conservation plans from private individuals or organizations for deposit into this fund;

(6) Fees collected for the processing of applications for coastal and beach erosion control projects; [~~and~~]

(7) Transient accommodations tax revenues allocated pursuant to section 237D-6.5; and

[~~(7)~~] (8) Grants provided by governmental agencies or any other source.

(b) The beach restoration and conservation special fund may be used by the department for one or more of the following purposes:

(1) Planning, designing, development, or implementation of beach restoration and conservation projects, and all things necessary, useful, and convenient in connection with the restoration and conservation of beach lands, pursuant to this part; and

(2) Providing grants to the counties, nongovernmental organizations, and the University of Hawaii for the restoration and conservation of beach lands and for research or engineering studies necessary to support beach restoration and conservation projects, subject to this part."

SECTION 7. Section 237D-6.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) Revenues collected under this chapter shall be distributed as follows, with the excess revenues to be deposited into the general fund:

(1) $26,500,000 shall be allocated to the convention center enterprise special fund established under section 201B-8;

(2) $82,000,000 shall be allocated to the tourism special fund established under section 201B-11; provided that:

(A) Beginning on July 1, 2012, and ending on June 30, 2015, $2,000,000 shall be expended from the tourism special fund for development and implementation of initiatives to take advantage of expanded visa programs and increased travel opportunities for international visitors to Hawaii;

(B) Of the $82,000,000 allocated:

(i) $1,000,000 shall be allocated for the operation of a Hawaiian center and the museum of Hawaiian music and dance at the Hawaii convention center; and

(ii) 0.5 per cent of the $82,000,000 shall be transferred to a sub-account in the tourism special fund to provide funding for a safety and security budget, in accordance with the Hawaii tourism strategic plan 2005-2015; and

(C) Of the revenues remaining in the tourism special fund after revenues have been deposited as provided in this paragraph and except for any sum authorized by the legislature for expenditure from revenues subject to this paragraph, beginning July 1, 2007, funds shall be deposited into the tourism emergency trust fund, established in section 201B-10, in a manner sufficient to maintain a fund balance of $5,000,000 in the tourism emergency trust fund;

(3) $103,000,000 for fiscal year 2014-2015, $103,000,000 for fiscal year 2015-2016, and $93,000,000 for each fiscal year thereafter shall be allocated as follows: Kauai county shall receive 14.5 per cent, Hawaii county shall receive 18.6 per cent, city and county of Honolulu shall receive 44.1 per cent, and Maui county shall receive 22.8 per cent; provided that commencing with fiscal year 2018-2019, a sum that represents the difference between a county public employer's annual required contribution for the separate trust fund established under section 87A-42 and the amount of the county public employer's contributions into that trust fund shall be retained by the state director of finance and deposited to the credit of the county public employer's annual required contribution into that trust fund in each fiscal year, as provided in section 87A-42, if the respective county fails to remit the total amount of the county's required annual contributions, as required under section 87A-43;

(4) $3,000,000 shall be allocated to the Turtle Bay conservation easement special fund established under section 201B-8.6 for the payment of debt service on revenue bonds, the proceeds of which were used to acquire the conservation easement in Turtle Bay, Oahu, until the bonds are fully amortized; [~~and~~]

(5) [~~Of the excess revenues deposited into the general fund pursuant to this subsection,~~] $3,000,000 shall be allocated [~~subject to the~~] to the special land and development fund to be expended according to a mutual agreement of the board of land and natural resources and the board of directors of the Hawaii tourism authority in accordance with the [~~Hawaii tourism authority~~] long-range strategic plan for tourism developed by the Hawaii tourism authority for:

(A) The protection, preservation, and enhancement of natural resources important to the visitor industry;

(B) Planning, construction, and repair of facilities; and

(6) Beginning July 1, 2015, $3,000,000 shall be annually allocated to the beach restoration and conservation special fund established in section 171-156 until a fund balance of $7,000,000 is achieved; thereafter, funds shall be allocated from the beach restoration and conservation special fund in a manner sufficient to maintain a fund balance of $7,000,000.

All transient accommodations taxes shall be paid into the state treasury each month within ten days after collection and shall be kept by the state director of finance in special accounts for distribution as provided in this subsection.

As used in this subsection, "fiscal year" means the twelve-month period beginning on July 1 of a calendar year and ending on June 30 of the following calendar year."

SECTION 8. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 9. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2015.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	617
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII