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The Maui News
With two days left before the second crossover deadline, the state House of Representatives passed an additional 77 Senate bills on Tuesday, including measures to disband the Hawaii Tourism Authority, improve the state's child welfare system and launch a telework pilot study.
The bills now head back to the Senate for their consideration, according to a House news release. If the Senate disagrees to amendments made by the House, the bills will be negotiated in conference committees.
One of the measures passed by the House is Senate Bill 1522, which aims to repeal the Hawaii Tourism Authority and establish an Office of Destination Management within the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. The office would be headed by a nine-member board of directors, including representatives from all four counties. The bill would also establish and appropriate funds for a tourism liaison officer within the Office of the Governor.
"There are so many places in our communities that are now inundated by visitors who are seeking an authentic vacation," Rep. Sean Quinlan said in a House news release Tuesday. "Destination management is an investment in our local communities and when push comes to shove, we should put people over profits."
Officials and community members have been pushing for better management in the face of overtourism complaints. But some local economists have cautioned that doing away with the Hawaii Tourism Authority may not solve the problem, instead replacing it with a new board with the same structural deficiencies, according to a University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization brief.
In addition to SB 1522, other key measures passed by the House include:
• Senate Bill 975, which establishes the offense of unlawful shipment of tobacco products. It also defines electronic smoking devices and e-liquids as "tobacco products" for purposes of the cigarette tax and tobacco tax law and imposes an excise tax on e-cigarettes by a wholesaler or dealer.
Rep. Trish La Chica explained that e-cigarettes remain "the only tobacco product unregulated in the state," and that they would now be subject to the same regulations that apply to cigarettes and other tobacco products.
"This includes taxation, the restriction of online sales and requiring permitting and licensing," La Chica said.
• Senate Bill 295, which establishes the Malama 'Ohana Working Group under the Office of Wellness and Resilience to provide improvements to the state's existing child welfare system.
Rep. Lisa Marten explained that the working group could include resource caregivers, birth families, nonprofits or others serving the community, and would help guide the use of the expanded budget for child welfare services.
• Senate Bill 725, which appropriates funds for the Department of Human Resources Development to submit an annual report to the Legislature on the telework policies of the executive branch, and establishes requirements for a pilot telework monitoring system for up to three departments.
"Telework can be a powerful recruitment tool for filling vacancies in State government, especially for the younger generations," Rep. Scot Matayoshi said. "To encourage departments to fully implement the state's new telework policy, this bill requires a report to the State Legislature of state jobs that can effectively telework, how many of those jobs are authorized to telework, as well as other data to gauge department implementation efforts. This bill also allocates funds to better train managers to effectively manage the productivity of teleworking employees."
• Senate Bill 1230, which establishes sensitive places for firearms and prohibitions on carrying firearms in certain circumstances. Some of the prohibitions include leaving an unsecured firearm in a vehicle unattended, carrying a firearm while under the influence and carrying or possessing firearms on certain private private property open to the public without express authorization.
"This measure was carefully crafted to make sure that we do comply with the U.S. Supreme Court decision, the Bruen Case, where we are allowed to set up a reasonable system of regulation for concealed carry weapons," Rep. David Tarnas said.
The House will recess until the second crossover deadline at noon Thursday.
To date, 213 Senate bills have been amended by the House and crossed over to the Senate after passing third reading. Another 13 Senate measures have passed third reading in the House unamended.