HONOLULU – Gov. David Ige signed SB 4 after completing legal and policy reviews of the measure over the weekend. The bill extends O‘ahu’s general excise tax surcharge to 2030, an additional three years. It also increases the state’s hotel room tax by one percent (10.25 percent) for the next 13 years. “This is a strategic investment in Hawai‘i’s future. We must move this forward and complete this project,” said Gov. Ige. “I have heard the concerns of leaders and residents in Hawai‘i, Kaua‘i and Maui counties. I recognize the uniqueness of each county and the fiscal challenges they face, with main revenue sources being property taxes and the TAT. I understand why they would like to see more support from the visitor industry and I intend to work with the county mayors, county councils and the Legislature on a fair distribution of the TAT.” Links to photos and videos: Flickr: https://flic.kr/s/aHsm4myJr9 Link to the bill signing: https://www.facebook.com/GovernorDavidIge/videos/872877726220954/ Link to the reporters Q&A: https://www.facebook.com/GovernorDavidIge/videos/872890789552981/ ### #DavidIge #SB4 #HonoluluRail #TAT

State lawmakers pass bills, advise and consent on 50 gubernatorial appointments. HONOLULU, Hawai‘i – Members of the Hawai‘i State Senate adjourned Special Session today after the House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 4 to provide funding for the completion of the City and County of Honolulu’s rail transit project and bills to approve collective bargaining costs. During this Special Legislative Session, as part of its constitutionally mandated duties, the Senate considered for advise and consent and approved a total of 50 gubernatorial appointments to 34 boards and commissions and one deputy director position. Among those confirmed this week: James Griffin, to the Public Utilities Commission Douglas Shinsato to the U.H. Board of Regents Robert Masuda as Deputy to the Chairperson of the Department of Land and Natural Resources Marcus Oshiro as the Chairperson and Representative of the Public of the Hawai‘i Labor Relations Board A complete list of actions taken during the Special Legislative Session can viewed at capitol.hawaii.gov. Photos are available on the Hawai‘i Senate Majority flickr site: flickr.com/photos/hawaiisenatemajority ### #hawaiisenate #Rail #SB4 #JamesGriffin #douglasshinsato #robertmasuda #marcusoshiro

The Hawai'i State Senate today voted unanimously to confirm Marcus Oshiro to the Hawaii Labor Relations Board as Chairperson and Representative of the public. Oshiro will be completing the term left vacant by the resignation of Kerry Komatsubara, which ends June 30, 2018 and is also being appointed for a six-year term which ends June 30, 2024. Oshiro has served in the State House of Representatives since being elected in 1994.

Members of Senate Committee on Labor today voted to recommend the nomination of Marcus Oshiro to the Hawaii Labor Relations Board as Chairperson and Representative of the public. Oshiro will be completing the term left vacant by the resignation of Kerry Komatsubara, which ends June 30, 2018and is also being appointed for a six-year term which ends June 30, 2024. Oshiro has served in the State House of Representatives since being elected in 1994.

The Hawaii State Senate today voted unanimously to confirm James Griffin to the Public Utilities Commission. Griffin is a faculty member at the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and previously served as chief of policy and research at the PUC. Griffin’s term on the PUC ends June 30, 2022.

THE SENATE THE TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE INTERIM OF 2017 COMMITTEE ON LABOR Senator Jill N. Tokuda, Chair Senator J. Kalani English, Vice Chair COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS Senator Donovan M. Dela Cruz, Chair Senator Gilbert S.C. Keith-Agaran, Vice Chair NOTICE OF HEARING DATE: DATE: Monday, August 28, 2017 TIME: 11:00AM PLACE: Conference Room 211 State Capitol 415 South Beretania Street A G E N D A The Committees will meet to hear the following bills after its introduction and referral at the convening of the Special Session of 2017 on Monday, August 28, 2017: SB 2 Status & Testimony Pending Introduction and Referral to LBR/WAM RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT COST ITEMS. To provide appropriations for collective bargaining cost items and other public employment costs for Units (1) and (10) and their excluded counterparts, including the cost of salary adjustments negotiated between the State and the bargaining unit representative for fiscal biennium 2017-2019. SB 3 Status & Testimony Pending Introduction and Referral to LBR/WAM RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT. Appropriates funds for fiscal biennium 2017-2019 for collective bargaining cost items, salary increases, and other public employment costs for collective bargaining unit (7) and their excluded counterparts. Decision Making to follow, if time permits. Testimony may be submitted up to 24 hours prior to the start of the hearing. Persons wishing to testify should submit testimony in one of the following ways: • Email: Testimony may be emailed to the Committee at LBRtestimony@capitol.hawaii.gov (10 MB limit). Please indicate the measure, date and time of the hearing. Email sent to individual offices or any other Senate office will not be accepted. • In person: Deliver 1 copy of their testimony to the committee clerk, Room 202, State Capitol. • Fax: Testimony may be faxed if less than 5 pages in length, to 587-7220 or 1-800-586-6659 (toll free for neighbor islands), at least 24 hours prior to the hearing. When faxing, please indicate to which committee the testimony is being submitted and the date and time of the hearing. Please Note: All testimony received by the Hawai‘i Senate is posted on the Hawai‘i Legislature's website, which is accessible to the public. Please do not include private information that you do not want disclosed to the public. FOR AMENDED NOTICES: Measures that have been deleted are stricken through and measures that have been added are underscored. If a measure is both underscored and stricken through, that measure has been deleted from the agenda. If you require auxiliary aids or services to participate in the public hearing process (i.e. ASL or foreign language interpreter, or wheelchair accessibility), please contact the committee clerk at least 24 hours prior to the hearing so that arrangements can be made. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL THE COMMITTEE CLERK AT (808) 587-7215. #jkalanienglish #JillTokuda #DonovanDelaCruz #GilbertKeithAgaran #waysandmeanss #LABOR #SB2 #SB3 #publicemployment

THE SENATE THE TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE INTERIM OF 2017 COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS Senator Donovan M. Dela Cruz, Chair Senator Gilbert S.C. Keith-Agaran, Vice Chair NOTICE OF HEARING DATE: Monday, August 28, 2017 TIME: 11:30 a.m. PLACE: Auditorium State Capitol 415 South Beretania Street RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION FINANCING County Surcharge on State Tax; Extension; Transient Accommodations Tax; Appropriations A G E N D A (Updated 8/25/17 9:50am to clarify written testimony procedures) The Committees will hold a hearing on the following bill after its introduction and referral at the convening of the Special Session of 2017 on Monday, August 28, 2017: SB 1 Status & Testimony Pending Introduction and Referral to WAM RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION FINANCING. Authorizes a county that has adopted a surcharge on state tax to extend the surcharge to 12/31/2030. Authorizes a county to adopt a surcharge on state tax before 3/31/2018, under certain conditions. Decreases from 10% to 1% the surcharge gross proceeds retained by the State. Allows the director of finance to pay revenues derived from the county surcharge under certain conditions. Clarifies uses of surcharge revenues. Establishes a mass transit special fund and specifies that funds be allocated for capital costs of a mass transit project, under certain conditions. Increases the TAT by 1% from 1/1/2018 to 12/31/2030 and allocates revenues to the special fund. Establishes that if a court makes a monetary award to a county due to the State's violation of state law or constitutional provision relating to the State's deduction and withholding of county surcharge on state tax revenues, then an amount equal to the award shall be withheld from the additional TAT revenues paid over to the mass transit special fund and shall be credited to the general fund. Makes $103,000,000 the permanent annual allocation of TAT revenues to the counties. Requires the state auditor to conduct an audit and annual reviews of HART. Requires the comptroller to certify HART's expenditures for capital costs. Appropriates funds for the department of budget and finance, DAGS, and the state auditor. Requires the senate president and house speaker to each appoint 2 non-voting, ex-officio members to the board of directors of HART. (SB1) Decision Making to follow, if time permits. Written Testimony may be submitted up to 24 hours prior to the start of the hearing. Persons wishing to testify should submit testimony in one of the following ways: • Email: • WAM-WrittenOnly@capitol.hawaii.gov if you are ONLY submitting written comments and will NOT be testifying in person • WAM-InPerson@capitol.hawaii.gov if you are ALSO going to testify at the hearing in person • In person: Deliver 1 copy of your testimony to the committee clerk, Room 208, State Capitol. • Fax: Testimony may be faxed if less than 5 pages in length, to 586-6951 or 1-800-586-6659 (toll free for neighbor islands). Please Note: All testimony received by the Hawai‘i State Senate is posted on the Hawai‘i Legislature's website, which is accessible to the public. Please do not include private information that you do not want disclosed to the public. While every effort will be made to incorporate all testimony received on time, materials received on the day of the hearing or improperly identified or directed, may be distributed to the Committee after the hearing. The Committee on Ways and Means would like to hear from as many individuals as possible. As such, and as a courtesy to those patiently waiting for their opportunity to address the Committee on Ways and Means, it is requested that each speaker limit their oral testimony to two (2) minutes. Per committee protocol, testifiers will be called up in the following order: • Government • Organizations & Businesses • Individuals Day of Hearing: Due to the anticipated high number of testifiers, those who plan to testify in-person including government officials, organizations, and individuals must register at the sign-in table at the entrance of the Auditorium. The registration table will open at 10:30 a.m. Registered testifiers will be assigned to a group and given a ticket to indicate one's place on the testifier list and speaking order. This ticket will be your entrance pass into the hearing. General seating for non-testifiers will be available on a first come first served basis. Additional viewing areas and seating will be made available in Conference Rooms 224, 225, and 211. If you require auxiliary aids or services to participate in the public hearing process (i.e. ASL or foreign language interpreter, or wheelchair accessibility), please contact the committee clerk at least 24 hours prior to the hearing so that arrangements can be made. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL THE COMMITTEE CLERK AT (808) 586-6697 #SB1 #HawaiiRail #TransportationFinancing #WAM #DonovanDelaCruz #GilbertKeithAgaran #HawaiiSenate #JKalaniEnglish #BrickwoodGaluteria #BreeneHarimoto #LorraineInouye #kaialiikahele #MichelleKidani #GilRiviere #MaileShimabukuro #Glennwakai

Bill extends GET support on Oahu, raises TAT one percent, provides needed accountability Honolulu, Hawaii – In order to provide the City and County of Honolulu with the funding to complete its $8.2 billion rail project House and Senate Committee Chairs have drafted a bill to be considered during a special legislative session next week. The proposed bill will: Extend the general excise tax surcharge on Oahu for three additional years, from December 31, 2027 through December 31, 2030. This will provide $1.046 billion. Raise the hotel room tax charged to visitors (Transient Accommodation Tax) by one percent from 9.25 percent to 10.25 percent for 13 years, from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2030. This also applies to timeshares. This will provide $1.326 billion. The current method of collecting the hotel room tax remains the same. It is collected statewide and goes directly into the general fund, not to the island where it is collected. Each county receives a specified amount of the tax regardless of total amounts collected. Raising the tax does not change that amount. Permanently increase the counties’ share of the TAT from its current $93 million base to $103 million. Reduce the State Department of Taxation’s administrative fee on the GET surcharge from 10 percent to one percent. Require a state run audit of the rail project and annual financial reviews. The bill also provides that funds collected for rail go into a new Mass Transit Special Fund and rather than simply give the money to the City, the State Comptroller will review and disburse the funds to the City for its costs as the project moves forward. This will allow the state to keep track of both spending and construction progress. Currently, the GET surcharge is automatically transferred to the city on a quarterly basis without any oversight. This bill will change that practice to ensure accountability and transparency by having the Comptroller review and approve the expenses before the City and HART are reimbursed. It also establishes better internal control and ensures that waste and fraud does not occur. This bill addresses the immediate rail construction shortfall by collecting funds upfront through a modest TAT increase instead of adding additional years of GET surcharge on the back end. This will likely reduce the financing costs of the project by hundreds of millions of dollars. A rail bill that relies solely on GET will continue to tax the poor and increase the cost to taxpayers in the long term. By including the TAT, visitors will now bear a significant portion of the financing burden. Having these two funding sources for the City and County’s rail project also provides greater security for the project in case either the GET or TAT does not perform as expected. House Speaker Scott K. Saiki (Kakaako, Downtown) said the $2.378 billion funding shortfall package will fund the rail project through Ala Moana and will not jeopardize the $1.55 billion in federal funding. “By working with our colleagues in the Senate, the Legislature has come up with a concrete plan to fund the rail project that will reduce the overall costs while shifting some of the regressive tax burden away from our residents, who are struggling to make ends meet,” Saiki said. “This plan will not have a direct impact on neighbor island county budgets. “We have taken a long look at the rail project and have heard the concerns of residents during our joint public hearing on rail funding this month. This is a critical infrastructure project for Hawaii. We are not giving the City a blank check but instead insisting on audits and financial reviews and expenditures to provide complete transparency for our taxpayers.” Senate President Ron Kouchi (D, Kauai-Niihau) said, "I want to thank my colleagues and their respective staffs for all of their efforts in developing this proposed compromise draft bill that includes a permanent increase in the counties' share of the TAT from its current $93 million base to $103 million. I am hopeful that this compromise legislation will satisfy the FTA's construction cost concerns as testified to numerous times by the City and County of Honolulu. ### #rail #ronkouchi #DonovanDelaCruz #ColleenHanabusa #HonoluluRail #Rail #KirkCaldwell #ScottSaiki #GET #TAT #brianschatz

The state Department of Education believes its overhaul of how bus companies bid on servicing schools is paying off. Since 2012, the DOE changed how it bid out the school bus contracts. The department said it dramatically reduced the student transportation bill. "Bids came in substantially lower because of the competition in the market," DOE Facilities Assistant Superintendent Dann Carlson said. This year the department is paying nine bus companies $60 million, down $12 million from just a few years ago. But some parents say the savings doesn't make up for big inconveniences this year as driver shortages spurred route consolidations. "It's crazy," said mother Lorena Kashiwamura. "I don't know why DOE does not just figure out something for the safety of our kids. Still, Carlson said the state is now in the driver's seat when it comes to bus contracts. "We tell the contractor these are the routes we want you to drive. It's their job to figure out how to fill them in," he said. In 2012, lawmakers pressured the DOE to slash the cost of bus service by getting more companies to bid. Senator Jill Tokuda was education chair. "We wanted to see increased competition," she said. "We wanted to see good services for our students. That was the bottom line." The DOE is utilizing another tool to trim the bus bill. Daily passenger counts show which routes can be consolidated. "If I have two buses running side-by-side and they are both at 30% capacity it behooves us to combine those and make it into one route," Carlson said. Roberts Hawaii president and CEO Percy Higashi said the DOE's new request for proposals process allowed its bid evaluators to consider other factors besides price. "Yet all of the bidders from the mainland offers were higher than those of the local contractors," he said. Still, Carlson believes the greatest cost savings came from the low-bid system because it brought mainland companies into the mix. One holds a contract for a cluster of routes on the Big Island. "I know that people don't like to hear that we are opening up to the mainland. What it did do is force people to get competitive and to sharpen their pencils," Carlson said. Last year, more than 31,000 public school students in the state rode a school bus every day. The DOE is still tabulating this year's ridership. #LorenaKashiwamura #DOE #PercyHigashi

The Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce ​announced​ it is taking reservations ​for the ​11th Annual Hui Holomua Business Fest, which will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017​.​ This year’s conference will explore the new federal Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience Act and it’s potential to expand local tourism, spur economic growth and educate visitors about Native culture and history. The keynote speaker at this year’s event will be US Sen. Brian Schatz. Sen. Schatz will address this year’s theme “Ka ʻIkena ʻŌiwi: Native Wisdom,” and the importance of Native-Led Tourism. He will be joined by Native American speaker Ben Sherman, Chairman of the World Indigenous Tourism Alliance; Native Alaskan speaker Celeste Ferguson, Executive Director of the American Indian and Alaska Native Tourism Association; and Native Hawaiian speaker Ramsay Taum, Founder of Life Enhancement Institute of the Pacific. Hawaiʻi State Senator Brickwood Galuteria will be offer opening remarks about the potential for indigenous tourism programs to increase Native Hawaiian well-being. The NATIVE Act is a bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and John Thune (R-S.D.), that enhances and integrates native tourism, empowers native communities and expands the nation’s unique cultural tourism opportunities. https://mauinow.com/2017/08/14/mnhcoc-accepting-reservations-for-hui-holomua-business-fest/ #MauiNativeHawaiianChamberofCommerce #NativeAmericanTourismandImprovingVisitorExpe #BrianSchatz #WorldIndigenousTourismAlliance #BrickwoodGaluteria #HuiHolomuaBusinessFest #RamsayTaum

NOTICE OF INFORMATIONAL BRIEFING DATE: Wednesday, August 16, 2017 TIME: 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 noon PLACE: Conference Room 229 State Capitol 415 South Beretania Street A G E N D A The purpose of this joint informational briefing is for local, private and non-profit developers to provide information on past and current projects, challenges faced or facing, and any ideas where the state could assist in building more affordable housing. The following participants are invited to speak: Stanford Carr, President & CEO........................................ Stanford Carr Development David Z. Arakawa, Executive Director............................... Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii Kevin R. Carney, Vice President, Hawaii.......................... EAH Giovanni Mola, Vice President........................................... Coastal Rim Properties Christine Camp, President & CEO..................................... Avalon Group Karen Seddon, Regional Vice President............................ The Michaels Development Company If you require auxiliary aids or services to participate in the informational briefing (i.e. ASL or foreign language interpreter, or wheelchair accessibility), please contact the committee clerk at least 24 hours prior to the briefing so that arrangements can be made. For further information, please call the Committee Clerk at 586-6360. COMMITTEE ON HOUSING Senator Will Espero, Chair Senator Breene Harimoto, Vice Chair Sen. Kaiali‘i Kahele Sen. Clarence K. Nishihara Sen. Maile S.L. Shimabukuro COMMITTEE ON HOUSING Rep. Tom Brower, Chair Rep. Nadine K. Nakamura, Vice Chair Rep. Henry J.C. Aquino Rep. Joy A. San Buenaventura Rep. Mark J. Hashem Rep. Bob McDermott Rep. Sean Quinlan #Housing #StanfordCarr #DavidArakawa #KevinCarney #GiovanniMola #ChristineCamp #KarenSeddon #kaialiikahele #willespero #breeneharimoto #clarencenishihara #maileshimabukuro

Several neighbor island mayors and county council members told state lawmakers Monday they are opposed to the Legislature taxing their residents and visitors to pay for the over-budget Honolulu rail project. Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell and the City Council leaders said they want the state to allow them to extend Oahu’s half-cent general excise tax surcharge, or GET, another 10 years to 2037 so they can pay for the rail themselves. Still, many members of the state Legislature seemed intent on spreading the cost of Honolulu’s beleaguered rail project to the neighbor islands through an increase in the 9.25 percent statewide surcharge on hotels and lodging of less than 180 days, known as the transient accommodations tax or TAT. During a joint session of House and Senate money and transportation committees, many state lawmakers saw an increase in the TAT as more palatable than GET because it’s paid by tourists more than residents, and hits the poor the least. No decisions were made during the informational hearing Monday. The state is trying to help Oahu make up a $1.4 billion shortfall in the $10 billion project. The Legislature plans an Aug. 28-Sept. 1 special session to try to work out a plan, after House-Senate compromise attempts failed in the regular session earlier this year. A TAT increase of 1 percent statewide could trim more than $1 billion off rail financing costs by allowing less borrowing, said House Finance Committee Chairwoman Sylvia Luke, a Punchbowl Democrat. The rail project’s price tag has ballooned from $3.6 billion in 2006 to $8.2 billion now, or more than $10 billion with the bond costs. “I just don’t get it,” Luke said, apparently exasperated by Caldwell’s insistence that the GET is the better choice. Caldwell and other city officials said they prefer the GET instead of the TAT because it’s a more stable funding source, and also because it’s already approved by the Federal Transit Administration as the rail’s funding source. The FTA is chipping in $1.55 billion for the project. “I support GET and I haven’t wavered from that,” Caldwell said. A statewide increase in the GET surcharge earmarked for the rail didn’t come up during Monday’s discussion, although it was listed as an option in a slideshow for the meeting and could be floated during the special session. Last session, all Big Island House members voted in favor of a conference bill increasing the TAT by 1 percent statewide and giving the money to the Honolulu rail project while raising the cap on the counties’ share to $103 million. The Senate wanted to keep the $93 million cap while allowing Oahu to raise its GET. Maui County Council Chairman Mike White disputed state lawmakers’ contention that a TAT increase wouldn’t hurt county budgets. The issue of TAT already is a sore point for counties, which saw their share capped during the recession and never returned to earlier levels. “Most visitors have a fixed budget for their vacation, and an increase in the room tax will simply lead to less spending on restaurants, retail and activities,” White said. A 1 percent increase in the TAT would send approximately $26.7 million to the state instead of remaining in neighbor island communities, White said. Kauai, Maui and Hawaii counties generate 51 percent of TAT revenues, or $247 million, while Oahu generates 49 percent, or $237 million, according to White. The percentage coming from neighbor islands actually could be much higher. Outrigger Enterprises Group, for example, reports TAT for all its Hawaii properties from its Oahu headquarters, said spokesman Ed Case. That means TAT revenues from seven Oahu properties, six on Maui, four on the Big Island and three on Kauai are all counted as coming from Oahu. It’s not known if other hotel chains also attribute all their TAT as coming from Oahu. Sen. Kai Kahele, D-Hilo, who participated in the hearing, said afterward he supports rail, but he is more convinced than ever that the neighbor islands shouldn’t be funding it. Kahele hosted a public event Saturday in Hilo and said his constituents are strongly opposed to the concept. “They don’t want to go to Kona and stay in a hotel and pay a higher TAT and it go to the rail,” Kahele said. “Taxing all for the benefit of one is not fair,” said Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim in written testimony. “We cannot burden our citizens any more for something that will not benefit them.” Kim, who did not attend the meeting, asked that the Legislature restore some of the county share of the TAT. Just bringing the cap up to $103 million would more than pay for the county’s entire Civil Defense Department, he said. The TAT allocations to the four counties were capped at $93 million annually, with Hawaii County receiving 18.6 percent, or $18.3 million of that amount. Kim’s words were echoed by Kauai County Council Chairman Mel Rapoza. “We don’t have a rail on Kauai,” Rapoza said. “We’ll never have a rail on Kauai. But we do have a homeless problem.” Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa said his county already pays for services that are technically the responsibility of the state. “This is basically a City and County of Honolulu rail system,” Arakawa said. “We spend an extraordinary amount of money, time and resources to do a lot of what the state agencies should do in our county.” All of the Big Island’s House members voted in favor of a 1 percent statewide TAT increase for Honolulu rail in the bill that deadlocked during the recent legislative session. Rep. Cindy Evans, D-Kona, the House majority leader, thinks spreading the rail cost throughout the state is appropriate. Evans, who didn’t speak during the meeting, said Friday that it’s important to look at the big picture. Just as West Hawaii is the economic engine for the county, generating almost 70 percent of the county property tax base, so is Oahu the economic driver for the state, she said. In addition, supporters of the TAT increase say, the state pays for airports and seaports, roads and other facilities within counties. “Rail may appear to be an Oahu issue,” Evans said. “But it will end up helping determine the health of the whole state.” Email Nancy Cook Lauer at ncook-lauer@westhawaiitoday.com. #AlanArakawa #CityandCountyofHOnolulu #HarryKim #KaiKahele #CindyEvans #MelRapoza #MikeWhite #KirkCaldwell #SylviaLuke