Report Title:

Small Boat Harbors; Accountability; Subfunds

 

Description:

Requires each harbor to have a dedicated subfund of the boating special fund into which shall be deposited all moneys generated in that harbor, to be used for disbursements for the operating costs of the harbor, to retire service debt on harbor facilities, and for the repair of facilities and infrastructure.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1511

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO SMALL BOAT HARBORS.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Section 200-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:

"(c) The permittee shall pay fees to the department for the offshore mooring permit issued by the department. The fees shall be based on, but not limited to, the use of the [vessel, its] mooring, the vessel's effect on the waters and aquatic resources of the State, and the [administrative] expenses incurred by the department and other state agencies in administering that offshore mooring. All revenues collected under this section shall be deposited in the boating special fund[.] and the subfund created for that facility."

SECTION 2. Section 200-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§200-8[]] Boating program; payment of costs. The cost of administering a [comprehensive] statewide boating program, including, but not limited to, the cost of:

(1) Operating, maintaining, and managing all boating facilities under the control of the department;

(2) Improving boating safety;

(3) Operating a vessel registration and boating casualty investigation and reporting system; and

(4) Other boating program activities,

shall be paid from the boating special fund. The amortization (principal and interest) of the costs of capital improvements for boating facilities appropriated after July 1, 1975, including, but not limited to, berths, slips, harbor ramps, related accommodations, [general] harbor navigation channels, breakwaters, aids to navigation, [and] other harbor structures, and boating ramps outside of harbors may be paid from the boating special fund according to subfund priorities, or from general revenues as the legislature may authorize in each situation. Revenues provided in this chapter for the boating special fund shall be at least sufficient to pay the special fund costs established in this section."

SECTION 3. Section 200-10, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By amending subsection (c) to read:

"(c) The permittee shall pay moorage fees to the department for the use permit which shall be based on, but not limited to, the use of the vessel, its effect on the harbor, use of facilities, and the cost of administering this mooring program; and, furthermore:

(1) Moorage fees shall be established by the harbor board or council when in existence, or by the department and [shall] may be higher for nonresidents; provided that as nearly as possible total fees for each harbor shall be set such that at a minimum, annual operating costs for that harbor or facility shall be covered;

(2) An application fee shall be collected when applying for moorage in state small boat harbors and shall thereafter be collected annually when the application is renewed. The application fee shall be:

(A) Set by the department; and

(B) Not less than $100 for nonresidents;

(3) If a recreational vessel is used as a place of principal habitation, the permittee shall pay, in addition to the moorage fee, a liveaboard fee which shall be:

(A) $5.20 a foot of vessel length a month if the permittee is a state resident; and

(B) $7.80 a foot of vessel length a month if the permittee is a nonresident;

provided that the liveaboard fees established by this subsection may be increased by the department at the rate of the annual cost-of-living index, but not more than five per cent in any one year, beginning January 1 of each year; and

(4) If a vessel is used for commercial purposes from its permitted mooring, the permittee shall pay, in lieu of the moorage and liveaboard fee, a fee based on a percentage of the gross revenues derived from the use of the vessel which shall be not less than two times the moorage fee assessed for a recreational vessel of the same size."

2. By amending subsection (f) to read:

"(f) All revenues from the foregoing operations shall be deposited in the boating special fund[.] in a subfund dedicated to the needs of the particular facility from which it has been earned."

SECTION 4. Section 200-32, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§200-32[]] Fees and charges. (a) Except for vessels for which fees and charges are provided in subsection (b), the department shall assess and collect from the owner of each vessel required to be registered and numbered by section 200-31, the following fees and charges[:]to be set by the department:

(1) Initial [annual] registration fee[. For the issuance of an original certificate:

(A) For each vessel less than twenty feet in length, $13;

(B) For each vessel twenty feet or more in length, $25; and

(C) For each amphibious vehicle licensed as a motor vehicle, $15];

(2) Annual certificate renewal fee[. For the annual renewal of a certificate:

(A) For each vessel less than twenty feet in length, $10;

(B) For each vessel twenty feet or more in length, $15; and

(C) For each amphibious vehicle licensed as a motor vehicle, $10];

(3) Reregistration fee[. For the reregistration of a vessel, after a certificate has been canceled or voided, the appropriate amount provided in paragraph (1)];

(4) Transfer fee[. For the transfer of a certificate, $5];

(5) Certificate and registration sticker replacement fee[. For the issuance of a replacement certificate or a replacement set of vessel registration stickers, $5];

(6) Certificate modification fee[. For modifying a certificate, $5]; and

(7) Penalty charges for late registration[, etc. For each month or fraction thereof that a registration, renewal, reregistration, or transfer is delinquent, one-tenth of the appropriate fee shall be added to the normal fee, and the department may take such other enforcement action it deems appropriate; and

(8) Exemptions. The department may reasonably establish, by rules, exemptions from the fees required by this section].

(b) For vessels owned by or operated under the custody or control of a boat manufacturer or boat dealer, the manufacturer or dealer shall pay, [in lieu of the] fees and charges established by the department which are to be consistent with those provided for in subsection (a)[:

(1) Boat manufacturer and boat dealer annual certificate fee. For each certificate, a fee of $20;

(2) Annual certificate renewal fee. For the annual renewal of a certificate, a fee of $15;

(3) Certificate reissuance. For the reissuance of a certificate after a certificate has been canceled or voided, a fee of $20; and

(4) Certificate and registration sticker replacement fee. For the replacement of a certificate or registration sticker, a fee of $5].

(c) These registration fees and charges shall be set so that, along with revenues from fuel taxes and disbursements from the general fund, they are sufficient to fully fund the costs of statewide administration of small boating activities, including all cost overruns and the pro rata share of small boating in the enforcement activities of the department of land and natural resources."

SECTION 5. Section 200-34, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§200-34[]] Disposition of revenues. (a) All fees and penalties collected pursuant to section 200-32 shall be deposited in the boating special fund. Each harbor shall have a dedicated subfund of the boating special fund into which shall be deposited all moneys generated in that harbor, including mooring fees, security deposits and interest therefrom, land lease and revocable permit rents, parking fees, event revenues, grant and loan moneys, and all other returns from the harbor or facility. Expenditures for the harbor or facility may be made out of the subfund in the following priority order:

(1) Disbursements for the operating costs of the harbor;

(2) Disbursements to retire any service debt on that harbor’s facilities constructed in the past;

(3) Disbursements for the repair and replacement of substandard, damaged, or deteriorated harbor facilities and infrastructure;

(4) Disbursements to implement a harbor improvement master plan duly adopted by the harbor board or council;

(5) Disbursements to support new statewide initiatives benefiting boating, not to exceed ten per cent of the harbor's revenue in any one year; and

(6) Disbursements into appropriate depositories to ensure liquidity to the facility's operations and to gather interest income on temporarily idle funds. Any such interest shall accrue to the harbor subfund.

When each of the needs specified in paragraphs (1) to (6) have been met for a period of three years, the department of land and natural resources, the harbor board, or council shall adopt rules to reduce fees and other charges being collected by users of that harbor.

(b) Facilities other than harbors, such as launch ramps, mooring fields, offshore anchoring areas, and the like, shall be self-funded to the maximum extent possible, and shall be managed through subfunds subject to the priorities as established in this section."

SECTION 6. Section 248-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§248-8 Special funds in treasury of State. There are created in the treasury of the State three special funds to be known, respectively, as the state highway fund, the airport revenue fund, and the boating special fund. All taxes collected under chapter 243 in each calendar year, except the "county of Hawaii fuel tax", "city and county of Honolulu fuel tax", "county of Maui fuel tax", and "county of Kauai fuel tax", shall be deposited in the state highway fund; provided that:

(1) All taxes collected under chapter 243 with respect to gasoline or other aviation fuel sold for use in or used for airplanes shall be set aside in the airport revenue fund; and

(2) All taxes collected under chapter 243 with respect to liquid fuel sold for use in or used for small boats shall be deposited in the boating special fund.

As used in this section, "small boats" means all vessels and other watercraft except those operated in overseas transportation beyond the State, and ocean-going tugs and dredges. The chairperson of the board of land and natural resources, from July 1, 1992, and every three years thereafter, shall establish standards or formulas that will as equitably as possible establish the total taxes collected under chapter 243 in each fiscal year that are derived from the sale of liquid fuel for use in or used for small boats. In setting these standards or formulas, the amount determined shall be reasonable and sufficient, along with boating registration fees and available general funds, to substantially meet the statewide administration costs of the small boating program. The amount so determined shall be deposited in the boating special fund.

An amount equal to 0.3 per cent of the highway fuel tax but not more than $250,000 collected under chapter 243 shall be allocated each fiscal year to the special land and development fund for purposes of the management, maintenance, and development of trails and trail accesses under the jurisdiction of the department of land and natural resources established under section 198D-2."

SECTION 7. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 8. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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