STAND. COM. REP. NO. 834

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 1167

       S.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1167, S.D. 1, entitled:

 

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

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to make certain administrative changes to the Hawaii Tourism Authority to streamline its operations.

 

     Specifically, this measure:

 

     (1)  Clarifies the duties and changes the title of the Executive Director of the Authority to President and Chief Executive Officer;

 

     (2)  Changes the requirement that the Authority provide notice to the Governor, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives on any contract or agreement valued at $25,000 or more to require periodic reports on contracts and agreements;

 

     (3)  Eliminates certain "sunset" provisions in Act 58, Session Laws of Hawaii 2004, making permanent the Authority's ability to retain its own private attorneys and to exercise its current level of fiscal autonomy.

 

     Your Committee has received two written comments on this measure.  The written comments may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

 

     Your Committee finds that the difficult times currently being experienced by the State's major industry, tourism, may present an opportune time to undertake some administrative changes to streamline the operations of the Hawaii Tourism Authority.  Changing the title of the Executive Director of the Authority to President and Chief Executive Officer, while cosmetic on its face, should instill a more business-like atmosphere in the boardroom of the Authority.  Further, eliminating the "sunset" provision on the ability of the Authority to hire its own private attorneys should result in streamlining operations.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Requiring that the private contractor operating the Hawaii Convention Center be subject to the Hawaii Procurement Code;

 

     (2)  Reinstating the "sunset" provisions in Act 58, Session Laws of Hawaii 2004, relating to the fiscal autonomy of the Hawaii Tourism Authority;

 

     (3)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to allow further discussion of this measure; and

 

     (4)  Making technical nonsubstantive changes for purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     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. 1167, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1167, S.D. 2.


 

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

 

 

 

____________________________

DONNA MERCADO KIM, Chair