HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

123

TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the department of budget and finance to convene a working group to study the feasibility of imposing a school facility fee on residential property.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii has two hundred sixty public school campuses and the average age of their buildings is sixty-five years old; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii only spends approximately $210,000,000 in each year of the fiscal biennium on putting money back into its public schools through repair and maintenance; and

 

     WHEREAS, when compared to the number of public school students in Hawaii, the amount of money the State spends on repair and maintenance represents only approximately $200 per pupil, versus many schools on the mainland that spend between $1,000 and $1,200 per pupil on repairing and maintaining school facilities; and

 

     WHEREAS, due to the relatively small amount spent on repair and maintenance per pupil, the State of Hawaii ranks fifty-first in the nation (including the District of Columbia) in terms of how much money is spent on capital improvement projects per pupil; and

 

     WHEREAS, the current backlog of capital improvement projects is approximately $266,000,000; and

 

     WHEREAS, based upon current funding sources, the State will never be in a position to fix the problems with our school facilities unless another source of revenue is found for these projects; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii must create twenty-first century school facilities; and

 

     WHEREAS, if nothing is done, our schools will continue to decay, creating inequalities, limiting our use of technologies, and diminishing educational opportunities for our children; and

 

     WHEREAS, other states, such as California, use a portion of the state's property tax revenues to fund school repairs and upgrades; and

 

     WHEREAS, imposing a school facility fee on residential property would create an additional source of revenue to be used for school facilities; and

 

     WHEREAS, to create a fair source of revenue, a school facility fee should be structured carefully to ensure that fee revenues are distributed equally among all public schools and public charter schools in the State; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Budget and Finance is requested to convene a working group to study the feasibility of imposing a school facility fee on residential property in the State; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director of Finance is requested to serve as the chairperson of the working group and to select, as members of the working group, representatives of the:

 

     (1)  Department of Taxation;

 

     (2)  Department of Education;

 

     (3)  State Public Charter School Commission;

 

     (4)  Department of Finance of each county; and

 

     (5)  Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawaii; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, as part of its study, the working group is requested to:

 

     (1)  Evaluate the feasibility of imposing a school facility fee on residential property; provided that:

 

          (A)  The fee shall be calculated based on the number of bedrooms on each property; for example, at a rate of:

 

              (i)  $200 per year for properties with one or two bedrooms;

 

              (ii) $400 per year for properties with three or four bedrooms; and

 

             (iii)  $600 per year for properties with five or more bedrooms;

 

          (B)  The fee shall be assessed and collected by the counties and paid to the State; provided that a portion of the fees collected shall be used to reimburse the counties for the costs of assessment, collection, and disposition of the fee;

 

          (C)  The fee revenues shall be used by the State to fund repair and maintenance costs of all public schools and public charter schools in the State; provided that each public school or public charter school receives an equal portion of the fee revenues; and

 

          (D)  The fee revenues may be used for the following purposes:

 

              (i)  School maintenance;

 

              (ii) Upgrading schools for better wireless systems;

 

             (iii)  Ensuring school safety; and

 

              (iv) General benefit of the public schools and public charter schools of the State;

 

     (2)  Discuss the possibility of incorporating an exemption to the school facility fee for retirees or owner-occupants who are sixty-two years of age or older; including:

 

          (A)  Logistical concerns of administering such an exemption; and

 

          (B)  Effect on fee revenues; and

 

     (3)  Develop revenue projections for the school facility fee; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2014; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Finance, the Director of Taxation, the Chairperson of the Board of Education, the Superintendant of Education, the Chairperson of the State Public Charter School Commission, the Director of Finance of each county, and the Executive Director of the Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawaii.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

School Facility Fee on Residential Property; Study