Bill Text: HI HB403 | 2015 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Transient Accommodations Tax; Counties; Revenues

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 5-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-02-18 - The committee(s) on TOU recommend(s) that the measure be deferred. [HB403 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2015-HB403-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	403
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS TAX.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the transient accommodations tax provides critical funding to support State and county needs associated with increased tourism throughout our State.  The legislature further finds that increased visitors causes a strain on state and county resources, creating higher demands and necessary costs for infrastructure and services, providing greater opportunities to engage in infrastructure investments surrounding tourism, that creates much needed job opportunities as counties address their infrastructure needs associated with tourism. 

     The purpose of this Act is to remove the cap on the counties' shares of the transient accommodations tax so that the counties can adequately address the tourism-related infrastructure and services needs in a more directly proportional connection to funding.

     SECTION 2. 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] 44.8 per cent of the revenues collected under this chapter shall be allocated as follows to the counties, for the counties to address the visitor industry impacts on county services and tourism-related infrastructure: 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; and

     (4)  Of the excess revenues deposited into the general fund pursuant to this subsection, $3,000,000 shall be allocated subject to the 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 strategic plan for:

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

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

         (C)  Operation and maintenance costs of public lands connected with enhancing the visitor experience.

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  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.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

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2015.

 

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________
	_____________________________

 

 

Report Title:

Transient Accommodations Tax; Counties; Revenues

 

Description:

Removes the current cap on transient accommodations tax revenues to be distributed to the counties and establishes the distribution of these revenues as a percentage of TAT collected for infrastructure and services related to increased tourism. 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.