STAND. COM. REP. 924

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 38

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Tourism and Culture, to which was referred S.B. No. 38 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to provide additional flexibility to the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) by allowing it to appoint, or retain by contract, attorneys independent of the Department of the Attorney General (AG).

HTA supported this bill. The AG opposed this measure.

Your Committee notes that the duties and responsibilities of HTA require specialized legal expertise in a variety of business and commercial areas. Granting HTA the authority to retain its own legal services will allow HTA to conduct its business in a more efficient and effective manner.

Your Committee has amended this bill by inserting the contents of S.B. No. 1210 and a proposed bill developed by the House Select Committee on War Preparedness to support Hawaii's tourism industry. As amended, this bill:

 

(1) Establishes the Hawaii Tourism Registry, composed of groups of state residents who plan to travel out-of-state, to market or promote Hawaii as a tourist destination; and

(2) Appropriates $8,000,000 out of the Tourism Special Fund for the implementation of an integrated marketing plan by HTA to market and promote Hawaii as a visitor destination.

In addition, technical, nonsubstantive amendments were made for purposes of style and clarity.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Tourism and Culture that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 38, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 38, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Tourism and Culture,

 

____________________________

JERRY L. CHANG, Chair