Bill Text: HI SCR139 | 2019 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Requesting The Auditor To Conduct A Sunrise Review Of The Registration And Regulation Of Transient Vacation Unit Owners As "professional Guest House Operators".
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 18-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-27 - Report adopted, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. [SCR139 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2019-SCR139-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.C.R. NO. |
139 |
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THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO CONDUCT A SUNRISE REVIEW OF THE REGISTRATION AND REGULATION OF TRANSIENT VACATION UNIT OWNERS AS "PROFESSIONAL GUEST HOUSE OPERATORS".
WHEREAS, S.B. No. 960, introduced during the Regular Session of 2019, proposes the registration and regulation of transient vacation units; and
WHEREAS, transient vacation units are increasingly located in residential areas, often in violation of zoning laws and in conflict with residential neighbors; and
WHEREAS, there has been a proliferation of single family dwellings being offered for short-term vacation rentals by owners who frequently do not live on-site, and do not have employees on-site during the guest's stay; and
WHEREAS, these residential guests' houses are not currently identified and obligated to meet health, safety, and operational standards and laws generally applicable to places of public accommodation; and
WHEREAS, guests paying for such short term vacation rentals have an expectation of minimum safety and health standards and it is in the best interest of the State that such standards be applied and met, given the State's economic reliance on tourism; and
WHEREAS, enforcement actions against illegal transient vacation unit operators have proven difficult for county planning departments and the Department of Taxation, due to difficulty in identifying the properties being used as transient vacation units; and
WHEREAS, Act 204, Session Laws of Hawaii 2015, amended section 237D-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to formalize the requirement that advertisements for transient accommodations must conspicuously provide the registration identification number of the operator or plan manager, but provided no definition of "registration identification number"; and
WHEREAS, the counties each license and regulate transient vacation units with different processes and registration numbers; and
WHEREAS, various transient accommodation operators and plan managers manage multiple properties throughout the State; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs is charged with registering and licensing professions and makes this information publicly available and generally searchable online; and
WHEREAS, a centralized and publicly searchable database of transient vacation units, including addresses, unit numbers, and tax map numbers would help identify properly registered transient vacation units; and
WHEREAS, section 26H-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires new measures, subjecting unregulated professions and vocations to licensing or other regulatory controls, to be referred to the Auditor for analysis; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Auditor is requested to conduct a sunrise review of the registration and regulation of transient vacation rental owners who should be evaluated as "professional guest house operators", as proposed by S.B. No. 960, Regular Session of 2019; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is further requested to submit findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2020; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor.
Transient Vacation Units; Transient Vacation Rental Owners; Auditor; Sunrise Review
