STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1246

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

 

RE:   S.B. No. 264

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Tourism, Culture, & International Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 264 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TOURISM,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this bill is to clarify the duties of the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) regarding the development of measures of effectiveness in assessing its marketing plan.

 

     HTA and the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT) supported the intent of this bill.

 

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

 

     (1)  Transferring responsibilities related to tourism research and statistics from DBEDT to HTA;

 

     (2)  Removing the four ex officio nonvoting members from the HTA Board and placing them in an advisory group to HTA;

 

     (3)  Expanding the scope of a tourism emergency to include a national or global economic crisis; and

 

     (4)  Earmarking an unspecified percentage of the moneys allocated to the Tourism Special Fund from the Transient Accommodations Tax to be used for tourism product development and cultural programs.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Tourism, Culture, & International Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 264, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 264, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Tourism, Culture, & International Affairs,

 

 

 

 

____________________________

JOEY MANAHAN, Chair