STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1633

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: S.B. No. 212

S.D. 2

H.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred S.B. No. 212, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ENVIRONMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to appropriate funds to the Commission on Water Resource Management for data collection, monitoring, planning, and water management needs mandated under chapter 174C, Hawaii Revised Statutes, particularly the Hawaii Water Plan.

Prior to the hearing of this measure, a proposed House Draft 2 was made available to all interested parties and the general public for review. The purpose of the proposed draft is to support and improve the deposit beverage container program that was established under Act 176, Session Laws of Hawaii 2002, by encouraging the establishment of redemption centers at more convenient locations. Specifically, the proposed draft:

(1) Provides a deposit beverage container redemption center (redemption center) tax credit of up to $50,000 per year for qualifying costs incurred and paid by an eligible taxpayer during the taxable year to purchase, lease, or operate a redemption center;

(2) Directs the Department of Health (DOH) to establish a grant program to provide a maximum grant of $125,000 per organization to assist in developing redemption centers; and

(3) Appropriates funds out of the Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund to support the tax credit and grant program.

The Sierra Club-Hawaii Chapter supported the proposed draft. The Hawaii Food Industry Association and Retail Merchants of Hawaii supported the intent of the proposed draft. DOH, Department of Taxation, and Legislative Center opposed the proposed draft. The Tax Foundation of Hawaii provided comments.

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Deleting its contents and replacing it with the contents of the proposed House Draft 2;

(2) Removing specific tax credit, grant, and appropriation amounts; and

(3) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2010, to allow further discussion of the bill.

Your Committee wishes to note that some concerns were raised during the hearing regarding the grant program proposed by this measure. Specifically, it was hypothesized that organizations without proper experience may receive grants and then quickly go out of business.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 212, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 212, S.D. 2, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,

 

____________________________

DWIGHT TAKAMINE, Chair