PRESS RELEASE: January 14, 2020
Councilmembers to ask state legislators to support measures to improve quality of life for Maui County residents
WAILUKU, Hawaii – Council Chair Alice L. Lee announced today she will travel to the State Capitol tomorrow, with her council colleagues, to ask state legislators during opening day of the legislative session to consider measures in the 2020 Maui County Legislative Package.
Lee said the package includes 15 bills covering a wide range of issues, including the taxation authority and revenue, roadway safety, the regulation of hosting platforms for unpermitted vacation rentals and environmental issues like invasive species and sea-level rise. She said the package also includes a resolution urging the U.S. Congress to allow Hawaiian Homesteads to be direct recipients of federal housing block grants.
“The 2020 Maui County Legislative Package represents the result of a great deal of collaboration across the Maui County Council, as well as the feedback we have received from our communities on what matters most to them,” Lee said. “Whether it’s ensuring the road to Hana is made safer or empowering the county to combat online marketing of illegal transient accommodations, these bills, if passed by the state legislature, would go a long way toward improving the lives of Maui County residents.”
Lee said other bills in the package would increase funding to support agriculture statewide, extend the $5 million per year tax credit for the upgrading of cesspools through 2025, authorize remote schools like Hana High & Elementary School to receive supplemental funding and lower the threshold of blood alcohol concentration from 0.08 to 0.05 for the offense of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant.
The package also includes bills that would amend the allocation of transient accommodations tax revenue to more fairly recognize the counties’ support of public services for the visitor industry and extend Maui County’s authority to establish a general excise tax surcharge through June 30, 2021, she said.
“I am looking forward to communicating with our state legislators at the Capitol about what changes we can make to positively impact the residents of Maui, Molokai and Lanai,” Lee said. “Not just on opening day, but throughout the session, Maui County’s voice will be heard.”
Lee said she encourages Maui County residents to join with the council in tracking state legislation and submitting testimony to state legislative committees. She said updated information, including bill numbers and copies of her testimony, will be posted to mauicounty.us/ throughout the legislative session, which runs until May 7.
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2020 Maui County Legislative Package
Approved by Resolution 19-201:
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- A resolution to urge the U.S. Congress to increase funding for and allow Hawaiian Homesteads to be direct recipients of federal housing block grants under the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determinization Act.
- A bill to authorize counties to employ qualified archaeologists to perform necessary review under Chapter 6E, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Proposed projects will be deemed automatically approved if the archaeological review is not completed within 30 days.
- A bill to extend the tax credits to December 31, 2025, for the upgrade, conversion, or connection of qualified cesspools to a sewer system, and eliminate the geographical limitations for qualified cesspools.
- A bill to establish a special fund to provide state agencies with the resources to respond to newly detected invasive species.
- A bill to extend various reporting deadlines and the sunset date of the cesspool conversion working group; and extend the lapse date of funds appropriated previously for: the comprehensive statewide study of sewage contamination in nearshore marine areas, and for research and technical assistance necessary for the completion of the comprehensive cesspool conversion plan.
- A bill to permit two or more members of a county council to attend informational meetings and presentations, allowing more councilmembers to be better informed about the issues affecting their constituents.
- A bill to lower the threshold of blood alcohol concentration from 0.08 to 0.05 for the offense of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant.
- A bill to increase funding and direct the Hawaii climate change mitigation and adaptation commission to address impacted areas, further progress towards addressing the impacts of sea level rise, and identify critical public infrastructure in impacted areas, to create a plan for mitigation and adaptation to sea level rise, and to provide policy direction to the legislature on how to move forward with concrete strategies.
- A bill to extend the time allotted, from 45 days to 90 days, for the legislative body of a county to approve, approve with modifications, or disapprove an affordable housing project.
- A bill to allow counties to regulate housing platforms to prevent the further proliferation of illegal transient accommodations and preserve residential housing.
- A bill to re-establish and extend Maui County’s authority for a general excise tax surcharge to June 30, 2021.
- Approved by Resolution 19-202: A bill to increase state funding to specific department of agriculture programs and divisions to increase biosecurity at airports and harbors, support small local farmers, and promote safety of workers and the public as it pertains to agriculture, invasive species, and native ecosystems.
- Approved by Resolution 19-203: A bill to authorize remote schools to receive supplemental categorical funding, in addition to the allocation determined under the weighted student formula, based on their remote status, and to appropriate funds for this purpose.
- Approved by Resolution 19-204: A bill to require the driver of a lead vehicle on Hana Highway, between Mile Marker 00 and Mile Marker 34, where visibility around turns is inhibited because of the natural contours of the road, to use turnouts and allow vehicles to pass, thereby promoting traffic safety.
- Approved by Resolution 19-210: A bill to exempt lifeguards, their employing counties, or the state from tort liability arising from providing lifeguard services, except for civil damages arising from the lifeguard’s gross negligence or wanton acts or omissions.
- Approved by Resolution 19-211: A bill to amend the allocation of transient accommodations tax (“TAT”) revenues based upon the recommendations of the State-County Functions Working Group established by Act 174, Session Laws of Hawaii 2014, to consider the distribution of duties and responsibilities for public services between the State and the counties and to recommend a model for the allocation of TAT revenues.
Hawaii State Association of Counties 2020 Legislative Package
HSAC Package Approved by Maui County Council: Resolution 19-193.
TESTIMONY
HB 460 HD1 – RELATING TO COUNTIES – Support
HB 1714 – RELATING TO INVASIVE SPECIES – Support
HB 1761 – RELATING TO PUBLIC SAFETY – Support
HB 1769 – RELATING TO HOUSING – Support
HB 1770 – RELATING TO INVASIVE SPECIES – Support
HB 1776 – RELATING TO TAXATION – Support
HB 1880 HD1 – RELATING TO KAHOOLAWE ISLAND RESERVE COMMISSION – Support
HB 1922 – RELATING TO INVASIVE SPECIES – Support
HB 1922 HD1 – RELATING TO INVASIVE SPECIES – Support
HB 1928 – RELATING TO DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS – Support
HB 1928 HD1 – RELATING TO DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS – Support
HB 1928 HD2 – RELATING TO DEVELOPMENT DISTRICTS – Support
HB 1929 – RELATING TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING – Support
HB 1929 HD2 – RELATING TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING – Support
HB 1994 – RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII – Support
HB 2151 HD1 – RELATING TO CESSPOOL CONVERSION – Support
HB 2182 – RELATING TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING – Support
HB 2265 – RELATING TO INVASIVE SPECIES – Support
HB 2464 – RELATING TO THE USE OF INTOXICANTS WHILE OPERATING A VEHICLE – Support
HB 2512 – RELATING TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION – Support
HB 2518 – RELATING TO THE COUNTY OF MAUI – Support
HB 2541 – RELATING TO HELPING WORKING FAMILIES – Support
HB 2555 – RELATING TO THE NA WAI EHA WATERSHED – Support
HB 2566 – RELATING TO TRAFFIC SAFETY – Support
HB 2600 – RELATING TO WATER RATES – Oppose
HB 2713 – RELATING TO HEALTH – Support
SB 75 HD1 SD2 – RELATING TO TAXATION – Support
SB 1427 SD1 HD1 – RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION – Support
SB 2037 – RELATING TO HOUSING – Oppose
SB 2037 SD1 – RELATING TO HOUSING – Oppose
SB 2038 – RELATING TO BOARD MEMBERS – Support
SB 2038 SD1 – RELATING TO BOARD MEMBERS – Support with revisions
SB 2053 – RELATING TO HOUSING – Support
SB 2054 – RELATING TO INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS – Oppose
SB 2054 SD1 – RELATING TO INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS – Oppose
SB 2076 – RELATING TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION – Support
SB 2076 SD2 – RELATING TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION – Support
SB 2140 – RELATING TO TAXATION – Support
SB 2166 – RELATING TO TRAFFIC SAFETY – Support
SB 2166 SD1 – RELATING TO TRAFFIC SAFETY – Support
SB 2172 – RELATING TO HOUSING DEVELOPMENT – Support
SB 2212 – RELATING TO INCLUSIONARY ZONING – Support with revisions
SB 2224 – RELATING TO HEALTH – Support
SB 2224 SD1 – RELATING TO HEALTH – Support
SB 2224 SD2 – RELATING TO HEALTH – Support
SB 2234 – RELATING TO THE USE OF INTOXICANTS WHILE OPERATING A VEHICLE – Support
SB 2279 – RELATING TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING – Support
SB 2319 – RELATING TO TOURISM – Oppose
SB 2367 – RELATING TO INVASIVE SPECIES – Support
SB 2550 – RELATING TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING – Support
SB 2616 SD2 – RELATING TO HOUSING DEVELOPMENT – Support
SB 2620 – RELATING TO LAND USE – Support
SB 2620 SD1 – RELATING TO LAND USE – Support
SB 2647 – RELATING TO THE HAWAII PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITY – Support
SB 2686 – RELATING TO TAXATION – Support
SB 2686 SD1 – RELATING TO TAXATION – Support
SB 2687 – RELATING TO TAXATION – Support
SB 2687 SD1 – RELATING TO TAXATION – Support
SB 2690 – RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII – Support
SB 2692 – RELATING TO NA WAI EHA WATERSHED – Support
SB 2692 SD1 – RELATING TO NA WAI EHA WATERSHED – Support
SB 2692 SD2 – RELATING TO NA WAI EHA WATERSHED – Support
SB 2713 SD1 – RELATING TO INVASIVE SPECIES – Support
SB 2713 SD2 – RELATING TO INVASIVE SPECIES – Support
SB 3104 – RELATING TO LAND DEVELOPMENT – Support
SR2 – URGING DIRECT GRANTS TO HAWAIIAN HOMELANDS – Support
SCR2 – URGING DIRECT GRANTS TO HAWAIIAN HOMELANDS – Support