SUBJECT: TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS, Pay Counties for TVR Enforcement
BILL NUMBER: HB 419, HD-2
INTRODUCED BY: House Committee on Finance
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Provides that a county shall be eligible to receive funds from the State for the purpose of enforcing all applicable laws and ordinances relating to transient accommodations, provided that no funds shall be released to a county until it has satisfactorily complied with specified conditions. Makes an allocation from TAT revenues.
SUBJECT: TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS, Special Funds
BILL NUMBER: HB 911, HD-2
INTRODUCED BY: House Committee on Tourism & International Affairs
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Reduces the transient accommodations tax revenue allocation to the convention center enterprise special fund. Establishes a convention center repair and maintenance special fund and a convention center emergency special fund and allocates a portion of the transient accommodations tax to those funds. Increases the minimum fund balance of the tourism emergency special fund.
SUBJECT: TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS, Earmark Funds to Address Homelessness
BILL NUMBER: HB 908, HD-2
INTRODUCED BY: House Committees on Tourism & International Affairs and Human Services & Homelessness
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Adds yet another earmark to the TAT to address homelessness. Earmarks in general decrease transparency and accountability, and should be avoided.
SYNOPSIS: Amends section 237D-6.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to provide that $_____ per year shall be allocated to the Hawaii tourism authority to implement initiatives, in conjunction with the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association, to address homelessness in tourist and resort areas; provided that no funds shall be released unless matched dollar-for-dollar by the private sector. The funds are to be used for the provision of social services.
Requires Hawaii Tourism Authority to submit a report to the legislature at least twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2019, which shall include: (1) the current status of any initiative implemented during the three-year period prior to the date of the report, in conjunction with the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association, to address homelessness in tourist and resort areas, including the costs thereof, source of funding, and participating entities; and (2) the current status of any plans to implement future initiatives, in conjunction with the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association, to address homelessness in tourist and resort areas, including the estimated costs thereof, potential sources of funding, other than legislative appropriations, and anticipated participating entities.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2099.
STAFF COMMENTS: As with any earmarking of revenues, the legislature will be preapproving each of the initiatives fed by the tax earmark, so expenses from the funds largely avoid legislative scrutiny, and the effectiveness of the programs funded becomes harder to ascertain. It is also difficult to determine whether too little or too much revenue has been diverted from other priorities in the state budget.
If the legislature deems the programs and purposes funded by this special fund to be a high priority, then it should maintain the accountability for these funds by appropriating the funds as it does with other programs. Earmarking revenues merely absolves elected officials from setting priorities. If the money were appropriated, lawmakers would have to evaluate the real or actual needs of each program.
Digested 3/15/2019
SUBJECT: TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS, Increase Earmark
BILL NUMBER: HB 548, HD-2
INTRODUCED BY: House Committee on Finance
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Increases the allocation of funds from transient accommodations tax revenue to the special land and development fund to improve certain state resources and services.
SUBJECT: GENERAL EXCISE, TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS, Transient Accommodations Brokers as Tax Collection Agents
BILL NUMBER: SB 1292, SD-2
INTRODUCED BY: Senate Committees on Judiciary, and Ways & Means
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Allows a transient accommodations broker to serve as a collection agent for general excise and transient accommodations taxes. This type of arrangement would probably enhance collection of taxes because of the difficulty of policing individual owners. However, the number of caveats, conditions, and restrictions that are placed on the broker signing up for this program is so large that it is unlikely that any broker in its right mind would sign up. If no broker is motivated to sign up, this legislation will accomplish nothing.
SUBJECT: GENERAL EXCISE, TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS, Transient Accommodations Brokers as Tax Collection Agents
BILL NUMBER: SB 1292, SD-1
INTRODUCED BY: Senate Committees on Energy, Economic Development, and Tourism and Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Allows a transient accommodations broker to serve as a collection agent for general excise and transient accommodations taxes. This type of arrangement would probably enhance collection of taxes because of the difficulty of policing individual owners. However, the number of caveats, conditions, and restrictions that are placed on the broker signing up for this program is so large that it is unlikely that any broker in its right mind would sign up. If no broker is motivated to sign up, this legislation will accomplish nothing.
SUBJECT: TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS, Allow Counties to Surcharge TAT
BILL NUMBER: SB 198, SD-1
INTRODUCED BY: Senate Committees on Energy, Economic Development, and Tourism and Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Authorizes each county to impose a surcharge on transient accommodations tax. Changes the transient accommodations tax rate to an unspecified amount. Does not repeal the distribution of transit accommodations tax revenues to the counties.
SUBJECT: TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS, Special Funds
BILL NUMBER: HB 911, HD-1
INTRODUCED BY: House Committee on Tourism & International Affairs
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Reduces the transient accommodations tax revenue allocation to the convention center enterprise special fund. Establishes a convention center repair and maintenance special fund and a convention center emergency special fund and allocates a portion of the transient accommodations tax to those funds. Increases the minimum fund balance of the tourism emergency special fund.
SUBJECT: TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS, Earmark Funds to Address Homelessness
BILL NUMBER: HB 908, HD-1
INTRODUCED BY: House Committees on Tourism & International Affairs and Human Services & Homelessness
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Adds yet another earmark to the TAT to address homelessness. Earmarks in general decrease transparency and accountability, and should be avoided.
SUBJECT: TRANSIENT ACCOMMODATIONS, Allow Counties to Surcharge TAT
BILL NUMBER: HB 631, HD-1
INTRODUCED BY: House Committee on Tourism & International Affairs
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Authorizes each county to impose a surcharge on transient accommodations tax. Changes the transient accommodations tax rate to an unspecified amount. Repeals the distribution of transit accommodations tax revenues to the counties.