Hawaii-2022-SB139-Amended

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that due to the ambiguity of how the county allocation percentages in section 237D‑6.5(b)(4), Hawaii Revised Statutes, were originally calculated, these percentages should be revised to reflect the visitor arrivals of each county, so as to ensure a fair allocation of transient accommodations taxes to each county. According to the State Data Book and statistics from the Hawaii Tourism Authority in 2019, the city and county of Honolulu had 6,164,248 visitor arrivals; Maui county had 3,059,905 visitors; Hawaii county had 1,753,904 visitors; and Kauai county had 1,370,029 visitors. The legislature further finds that statistics from the State data book and the Hawaii tourism authority should be updated annually to reflect the current number of visitor arrivals to guide the reallocation of transient accommodations taxes.

The purpose of this Act is to provide a fairer, more consistent, and reliable allocation of transient accommodations tax revenues to the counties.

SECTION 2. Section 237D-6.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) Except for the revenues collected pursuant to section 237D-2(e), revenues collected under this chapter shall be distributed in the following priority, with the excess revenues to be deposited into the general fund:

(1) $1,500,000 shall be allocated to the Turtle Bay conservation easement special fund beginning July 1, 2015, for the reimbursement to the state general fund of debt service on reimbursable general obligation bonds, including ongoing expenses related to the issuance of the bonds, the proceeds of which were used to acquire the conservation easement and other real property interests in Turtle Bay, Oahu, for the protection, preservation, and enhancement of natural resources important to the State, until the bonds are fully amortized;

(2) $16,500,000 shall be allocated to the convention center enterprise special fund established under section 201B-8;

(3) $79,000,000 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 $79,000,000 allocated:

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

(ii) 0.5 per cent of the $79,000,000 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 special fund, established in section 201B-10, in a manner sufficient to maintain a fund balance of $5,000,000 in the tourism emergency special fund;

(4) [~~$103,000,000~~] $ shall be allocated based on the percentage of the State's annual visitor arrivals to each county according to data and statistics from the Hawaii tourism authority and the State data book; [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; and

(5) $3,000,000 shall be allocated to the special land and development fund established under section 171‑19; provided that the allocation shall be expended in accordance with the Hawaii tourism authority strategic plan for:

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

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

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. Hawaii county, the city and county of Honolulu, Kauai county, and Maui county shall each submit a report describing how it utilized its allocation of the transient accommodations tax funds distributed under 237D‑6.5(b)(4),Hawaii Revised Statutes, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular legislative session.

SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2021.

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	139
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII