STAND. COM. REP. NO.2727

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: S.B. No. 2556

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2556 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HAWAII TOURISM AUTHORITY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to exempt the Executive Director of the Hawaii Tourism Authority from the Employees' Retirement System and to give the Board additional flexibility in making the appointment.

Your Committee finds that there is a need to give more flexibility to the hiring of an Executive Director because the person in this position must lead the effort to promote tourism growth at a time when travelers are understandably more nervous about visiting far away places. Yet, Hawaii's economy depends on air travelers selecting Hawaii as their vacation destination, and spending their discretionary income here instead of in other exotic places. We also need to encourage residents to travel between islands. In order to attract the most qualified person for the Executive Director position, the Board will need to have incentives to offer new applicants that are more attractive than what other travel destination tourism offices may be offering. Your Committee believes that this measure provides the necessary tools to give the Board of the Hawaii Tourism Authority adequate flexibility to hire a new Executive Director.

Your Committee has amended this bill by correcting the amended section number from "section 201B" to section 201B-2.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2556, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2556, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair