Budget & Taxes

Amends the transient accommodations tax rate beginning on 1/1/2027. Beginning 1/1/2027, requires collection of a monthly tax of $20 per passenger per port entry or any commercial passenger vessel at any port facility under the jurisdiction of the department of taxation. Establishes a Transient Accommodation Tax Enforcement Working Group. Requires the transfer of all agricultural leases under the jurisdiction of the Department of Land and Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture. Appropriates funds to the Department of Land and Natural Resources for certain environmental stewardship projects. Appropriates funds to the Hawaii Tourism Authority for its operating budget request. Requires reports to the Legislature. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD2)

Establishes the Wildfire Mitigation Working Group. Requires a report to the Legislature. Requires the Office of the State Fire Marshal to provide administrative support to the working group. Appropriates funds. Revises the appropriations made by Act 302, SLH 2025. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Establishes, and appropriates funds for, the State Building Permit Process Task Force to evaluate the challenges, opportunities, and legislative actions necessary to establish a State Building Permit Review Office for state projects located on state-owned lands. Requires a report to the Legislature. Sunsets on 6/30/2028. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Makes emergency appropriations for collective bargaining cost items for the members of bargaining units (1) and (10) and their excluded counterparts to resolve issues related to temporary hazard pay for fiscal year 2025-2026. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

PART I: Requires motor vehicles to have front number plate mounting brackets or devices and for sellers, licensed dealers, or owners to securely affix number plates to the vehicles. PART II: Amends the Traffic Code relating to street racing. PART III: Expands the Automated Speed Enforcement Systems Program to high-risk locations of state or county highways as determined by the Department of Transportation, under certain conditions. Appropriates moneys. PART IV: Authorizes the installation of a school bus infraction detection system on the exterior of a school bus. Establishes strict liability and the process for issuing summons or citations for drivers shown by the system to be in violation of certain school bus laws. Clarifies the liability of drivers near a school bus that is actively monitored by a school bus infraction detection system. Appropriates moneys. PART V: Specifies that the Department of Transportation's Motor Vehicle Safety Office shall administer the Photo Red Light Imaging Detector Systems Program Special Fund and Automated Speed Enforcement Systems Program Special Fund. PART VI: Clarifies language relating to photo red light enforcement, automated speed enforcement, and penalty provisions. PART VII: Requires the Director of Transportation to adopt rules allowing for mobile vehicle safety inspections of passenger cars. Effective 7/1/3000; provided that part IV, except the rule-making directive and appropriation, effective 7/1/2028. (SD2)

This bill is a Hawaii House Concurrent Resolution that urges the U.S. Congress to pass H.R. 2687, known as the End Kidney Deaths Act. The resolution highlights that kidney disease disproportionately affects people of color and that many Hawaii residents currently rely on dialysis with hundreds dying annually due to limited access to transplants. The proposed federal legislation would create regulated, refundable tax credits for individuals who donate a kidney to a stranger, aiming to increase the number of living donors and reduce kidney-related deaths. The bill emphasizes that living donation is already highly regulated with safeguards for donor safety and notes that transplants can save lives while reducing long-term healthcare costs.

This bill requests the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to expand and strengthen programs focused on financial literacy, credit readiness, and homeownership preparedness for Native Hawaiian beneficiaries. The resolution asks the department to work with financial educators, credit counselors, and community partners to provide pre-award education, post-award support, culturally responsive materials, and to identify funding opportunities. The department is also asked to report back to the Legislature within 20 days of the 2027 session with details on program improvements, the number of people served, and measurable outcomes related to lease retention and credit improvement.

This Hawaii House Resolution urges the U.S. Congress to pass H.R. 2687, the End Kidney Deaths Act, which would create a federal tax credit system to encourage living kidney donations to strangers. The bill aims to address kidney disease disparities affecting rural and low-income communities by increasing the number of available organ donors through financial incentives for non-directed donations. The resolution highlights that kidney transplantation is more effective than dialysis for saving lives and reducing long-term healthcare costs, while noting that existing donor protections remain in place. This measure is presented as a bipartisan effort to expand access to life-saving transplants and reduce the number of patients waiting for kidneys.

This House Resolution expresses support for using the Dwelling Unit Revolving Fund to provide interim loans for predevelopment costs on government affordable housing projects in Hawaii. The measure aims to help cover expenses like site analysis, technical studies, design work, and permit preparation before construction begins. It specifies that developers would repay these loans through the project's permanent financing source to the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation. This resolution does not change existing laws but formally endorses a funding approach to help expedite affordable housing delivery.

Authorizes the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to package and sell a portion of its agricultural loan portfolio to permitted third parties. Appropriates funds out of the Agricultural Loans Revolving Fund to increase its expenditure ceiling. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)