STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3882

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                

 

RE:    H.B. No. 1828

       H.D. 3

       S.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 1828, H.D. 3, S.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE TAXATION BOARD OF REVIEW,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to facilitate the administration of the Taxation Board of Review.

 

     Specifically, the measure:

 

     (1)  Replaces the ten-member Board of part-time volunteer members with a three-member Board of full-time salaried members;

 

     (2)  Requires the Chairperson of the new Board to be an experienced attorney or certified public accountant;

 

     (3)  Provides that the Vice Chairperson of the Board, among other matters, shall serve as the Chairperson when the Chairperson is temporarily unable to act due to recusal;

 

     (4)  Requires the Board to submit to the Governor and Director of Taxation annual reports on the Board's activities;

 

     (5)  Establishes that the presence of at least two members at any Board meeting or proceeding shall constitute a quorum;

 

     (6)  Provides that a concurrence of the majority of members who hear an appeal shall validate an action of the Board;

 

     (7)  Establishes hearings by the Board as contested case hearings;

 

     (8)  Clarifies the legal and evidentiary framework for the Board's decisions; and

 

     (9)  Appropriates moneys for the salaries of Board members and staff.

 

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Taxation.

 

     Your Committee received written comments in opposition to this measure from one individual.

 

     Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance and Tax Foundation of Hawaii.

 

     Your Committee finds that establishing a paid, professional Taxation Board of Review and providing the Board with robust institutional support will help the Department of Taxation resolve its significant backlog of appeals and ensure that those appeals are resolved in a fair and expeditious manner.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Clarifying that the existing members of the Taxation Board of Review shall continue to serve until their successors are appointed and confirmed;

 

     (2)  Changing the appropriation from $518,452 to an unspecified amount;

 

     (3)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure; and

 

     (4)  Making technical nonsubstantive changes for purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1828, H.D. 3, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1828, H.D. 3, S.D. 2.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

 

 

 

________________________________

DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair