CHAIR’S 3 MINUTES Published in the Maui News, August 28, 2017 By: Mike White The State Legislature announced Thursday a plan to pay for the Honolulu rail project by raising the transient accommodations tax by 1 percent across the state. The proposed TAT hike is coupled with extending the 0.5 percent Oahu general excise tax […]
CHAIR’S 3 MINUTES Published in the Maui News, August 13, 2017 By: Mike White The issue of funding Honolulu’s controversial rail project is on the verge of boiling over to the Neighbor Islands and residents should be concerned. As mentioned in my July 17 “Chair’s 3 Minutes,” the state Legislature has scheduled a special session […]
CHAIR’S 3 MINUTES Published in The Maui News, MAY 7, 2017 By MIKE WHITE It has been a roller coaster of a ride at the state Legislature this past week, and as of this column’s deadline, it may not be over yet. House and Senate members have been in a tug of war over funding […]
CHAIR’S 3 MINUTES Published in The Maui News, April 30, 2017 By MIKE WHITE It’s budget season and the Maui County Council is faced with many difficult decisions for the coming fiscal year. At the start of the budget session, the Budget and Finance Committee sent out a countywide survey asking residents to respond with […]
CHAIR’S 3 MINUTES Published in The Maui News, April 9, 2017 By MIKE WHITE An important deadline is approaching at the state Legislature on Thursday called the second crossover of bills. Both the House and Senate must conclude reviewing bills from the opposite chamber and agree or disagree with any amendments. Differences head to conference […]
CHAIR’S 3 MINUTES Published in The Maui News, April 2, 2017 By RIKI HOKAMA It is appalling to know that during this legislative session, state lawmakers have supported a measure that would take away the counties’ share of the hotel tax revenue, also known as the transient accommodations tax, or TAT. That flawed bill was […]
CHAIR’S 3 MINUTES Published in The Maui News, February 26, 2017 By MIKE WHITE In last Sunday’s column, I made a case for the counties to receive a greater share of the transient accommodations tax, also known as TAT or hotel room tax, to cover the increasing costs of services for environmental protection, police, fire, […]
Chair’s 3 Minutes Published in The Maui News, Feb. 19, 2017 By Mike White On Tuesday, the state House Committee on Tourism advanced House Bill 1586, which phases out the counties’ share of the transient accommodations tax, also known as the TAT or hotel tax. County officials were present and expressed strong opposition to the […]
CHAIR’S 3 MINUTES Published in The Maui News, Jan. 22, 2017 By MIKE WHITE The County Council can anticipate fiscal challenges this year brought by bargaining unit negotiations and the continued cap imposed on the counties’ share of the transient accommodations tax. More than 20 members of the Hawaii State Association of Counties on Tuesday […]
Published in The Maui News, September 4, 2016 By MIKE VICTORINO, for The Maui News With more than four months to prepare, county council members throughout Hawaii will make every effort to keep counties’ priorities top of mind during the 2017 state legislative session. The Maui County Council’s Policy and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee will consider […]
