Lawmakers Override Gov. Ige’s Veto on Tourism Funding Invoice

State lawmakers on Tuesday overruled Governor David Ige’s veto of a bill that revised state funding for the Hawaii Tourism Bureau and the allocation of tourism tax revenue to the four counties.

The statement, HB 862, would stop funding the tourism agency with monies raised through the temporary lodging tax on hotel stays and other short-term rentals. Instead, despite using state coronavirus remedies for the current fiscal year, lawmakers intend to pay the agency with money from the general fund.

Instead of giving the four major counties of the state a share of the tax revenue for temporary housing, the legislation also gives counties the power to levy their own surcharge on the tax. The state is currently levying a uniform hotel tax rate on the islands.

The House of Representatives voted 38 for repeal, eight against and four excused members. The Senate voted 17 for the vote and eight against.

Sen. Bennette Misalucha, vice chair of the Senate’s Energy, Economic Development and Tourism committee, said special funds should not be protected for the benefit of an industry. She said lawmakers had injected special funds such as hotel tax revenue into the general fund to stop this practice.

The Hawaii Tourism Board, like other government agencies, will now need legislative support for its budget, she said. This requires the agency to be more accommodating with its strategic plans and forcing more communication between the agency and lawmakers, she said.

“It’s part of the control and balance in the state government,” said Misalucha, a Democrat, before the senators cast their votes. “Ultimately, we want to support the HTA and be their partners in supporting a good tourism platform. This can be possible with more transparency and accountability.”

Ige, also a Democrat, said he was concerned the move would affect the agency’s ability to go beyond marketing Hawaii to travelers to better manage tourists coming to the islands instead.

“There really is no other government agency that is able to identify the hotspots in every community, work with counties and states, and private sector individuals to really find solutions and, hopefully, fund them – at least on a pilot basis – so that we can determine and mitigate the impact of visitors who come here, ”said Ige.

He said funding the tourism authority with federal coronavirus aid would hinder the agency, as such funds come with extensive reporting requirements and strict procurement procedures. The governor said this would affect the agency’s promotion and funding programs for the Merrie Monarch Festival and other events.

Still, before lawmakers voted, Ige also told reporters that it was ready to carry out what lawmakers decided to do.

Rep. Sylvia Luke, chair of the House of Representatives Finance Committee, said the bill is a tool for the state to better manage tourism. She said the measure did so in part by authorizing the Department of Land and Natural Resources to collect tourist fees for access to popular parks.

The Democrat said lawmakers could not only rely on the Hawaii Tourism Board to manage tourism at some point in the future, but would have to step in and get involved themselves.

“This is a bill to do this now,” she said during the debate in the Chamber.

Ige vetoed a total of 26 bills. One of the veto laws HB 1296, would have canceled the Tobacco Prevention and Control Trust Fund. He also vetoed it HB 515 who would have asked a civil servant to verify the use of local produce at school lunch.

Legislators will meet again on Thursday to discuss other bills and amendments that Ige has vetoed. Here is the full list of Veto bills and Veto overrides.