HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

48

TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO CONDUCT AN ANALYSIS OF THE NEED FOR THE LICENSING AND REGULATION OF TRANSIENT VACATION RENTALS.

 

 

 


WHEREAS, section 26H-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires that new regulatory measures being considered for enactment be referred to the Auditor for analysis; and

 

WHEREAS, the analysis considers the probable effects of the proposed regulatory measure and assesses whether its enactment is consistent with the policies set forth in section 26H-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which include:

 

(1)  Assessment of the reasonable necessity of the regulation to protect the health, safety, or welfare of consumers of the service; and

 

(2)  Determination of whether regulation in the form of full licensure or other restrictions shall be retained or adopted when health, safety, or welfare of the consumer may be jeopardized by the nature of the service being offered; and

 

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Tourism Authority contracted a study by SMS Research & Marketing Services, Inc., to:

 

(1)  Research the evolving use of visitor accommodations in Hawaii;

 

(2)  Understand the impact of internet distribution channels and the shared economy on the availability and use of visitor accommodations;

 

(3)  Determine the number of lodging units in Hawaii; and

(4)  Quantify how these changes affect Hawaii's lodging supply; and

 

WHEREAS, the SMS study identified 22,238 individually advertised units in Hawaii; and

 

WHEREAS, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in December 2014 published a series on the proliferation of vacation rentals titled "Rogue Rentals" that reported about:

 

(1)  The rising vacation rental market and the "proliferation of mostly illegal vacation rentals" in areas beyond Waikiki that is "pitting neighbor against neighbor";

 

(2)  Ineffective and arbitrary enforcement policies which have exacerbated disputes between neighborhood residents and vacation rental owners; and

 

(3)  The need for better regulations on the vacation rental market to avoid the potential loss of millions of dollars of State tax revenues from homeowners not paying the required taxes and the increased victimization of tourists by bogus transient vacation rental scammers who are likely to escape prosecution because these out-of-state crimes are out of the State's jurisdiction; and

 

WHEREAS, H.B. No. 825 and S.B. No. 1237 (2015), propose to license and regulate transient vacation rentals, and these proposals require analysis by the Auditor pursuant to section 26H-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, the Senate concurring, that the Auditor is requested to conduct an analysis of the regulatory scheme proposed by H.B. No. 825 and S.B. 1237 (2015), pursuant to section 26H-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to consider data and other information gathered in prior studies on this issue, including those contracted by the Hawaii Tourism Authority and other relevant agencies; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is further requested to submit findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2016; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor; Director of Taxation; the Chair of the Hawaii Tourism Authority Board of Directors; and the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

 

 

 

Report Title: 

Sunrise Analysis; Transient Vacation Rentals; Auditor