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Following the 11-hour dispute, the Hawaii Tourism Authority emerged from the 2022 legislative session with a full annual budget of $ 60 million.
The legislators unanimously approved Parliamentary Bill No. 1147 during a vote on Thursday shortly before the adjournment of the session. It will now be sent to Governor David Ige for consideration.
The bill, which converts the HTA budget source into total funding, sets an additional spending limit of $ 28.5 million on the special Hawaiian Conference Center business fund and $ 100,000 for University tropical agricultural activities. of Hawaii.
HTA President and CEO John De Fries thanked the state legislators for “allocating an operating budget to the Hawaii Tourism Authority and for entrusting us with the important task of management of the target area and guest education.” He added that the government agency will work “hard on behalf of our communities and the foreign industry to help restore jobs, strengthen our economy and destroy our island.”
Senator Kurt Fevella (R, Ewa Beach-Iroquois Point) stood in support of HB 1147 during the vote. “We have previously said that the immigrant sector is an important sector of the Hawaiian economy, and has actually provided a significant portion of government tax revenue to provide employment and opportunities in ordinary families,” Fevella said.
“There are also challenges related to this industry. There are community concerns about the need to protect our culture and our natural resources. The Hawaiian Tourism Authority has a responsibility to change the focus on target management and guest education. Approval will help HTA become competent to show progress ”towards the implementation of its” Target Management Implementation Plans “for each county.
Government funding for the next financial year for HTA remained controversial for most of the legislative session. Council and Senate members left HTA funding out of the final version of the $ 17 billion additional government budget, and a legal dispute over alternative bills put the agency’s financial position at risk.
Prior to signing the final draft of HB 1147, the Senate approved House 1785 Bill, which would restructure the HTA. Parliament had approved Senate 775 Bill, which funded the HTA unconditionally but wanted to create an additional agency, the “Natural Resources Management Commission,” and set aside $ 30 million.
After last week’s deadline for money bills, lawmakers amended HB 1147 to include HTA funding. A last-minute change to the one that was previously a “capital improvement bill” could still raise challenges as to whether it will limit the recent “intestinal and reform” decision of the court. The decision requires that when a bill has been removed from its original content and replaced with something completely different, that step must be followed by a revised reading reading set.
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