REPORT TITLE:
State Agency Fees


DESCRIPTION:
Amends various fees charged by state agencies for governmental
services.  (SD2)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 2
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO FEES.


BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that as the State
 
 2 struggles with a prolonged fiscal crisis never before experienced
 
 3 in its history, government must utilize all the resources at its
 
 4 disposal to ensure that governmental services continue to be
 
 5 provided.  To this end, the legislature believes that fees
 
 6 charged by state agencies must be closely scrutinized to
 
 7 ascertain whether the fee imposed accurately reflects the cost of
 
 8 providing the services.  The proper aligning of fees charged by
 
 9 state agencies with monies expended to provide them will have the
 
10 resultant benefit of freeing up state resources for other areas
 
11 in need of revenue.
 
12      The purpose of this Act is to increase fees charged by state
 
13 agencies to more accurately reflect the cost of providing
 
14 governmental services.
 
15      SECTION 2.  Chapter 231, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
16 by adding two new sections to be appropriately designated and to
 
17 read as follows:
 
18      "§231-     Fees on delinquent tax accounts, authorized.  The
 
19 department, in addition to any other penalties or interest
 
20 permitted to be charged by law, may adopt rules, pursuant to
 

 
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 1 chapter 91, to set and collect fees on delinquent tax accounts to
 
 2 assist in supporting the costs of collection of those accounts.
 
 3 The fees shall be deposited into the delinquent returns special
 
 4 fund established in section 231-   .
 
 5      §231-     Delinquent returns special fund, established.
 
 6 There is established in the state treasury a special fund to be
 
 7 known as the delinquent returns special fund, into which shall be
 
 8 deposited revenues collected from fees on delinquent tax
 
 9 accounts.  Moneys in the fund shall be expended by the department
 
10 to support the costs of collection activities of the department."
 
11      SECTION 3.  Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
12 amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated
 
13 and to read as follows:
 
14      "§302A-     Fees.  The department shall assess the following
 
15 fees:
 
16      (1)  $           per participating child for daily school
 
17           bus transportation, each way; and
 
18      (2)  $           per participating child for student
 
19           athletic activities.
 
20      The department, by rules adopted under chapter 91, may
 
21 provide for a reduced fee or no fee for a child due to the
 
22 economic circumstances of the child's family."
 
23      SECTION 4.  Section 188-50, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 

 
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 1 amended by amending subsections (a) and (b) to read as follows:
 
 2      "(a)  It is unlawful for any person, except children below
 
 3 nine years of age, to fish, take, or catch any introduced
 
 4 freshwater game fish without first obtaining a license.  Children
 
 5 exempt by this section may fish, provided they are accompanied by
 
 6 a licensed person.  The department of land and natural resources
 
 7 may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 necessary for the purposes
 
 8 of this chapter [and to set fees for freshwater game fish
 
 9 fishing].
 
10      (b)  The licenses shall be issued by agents of the
 
11 department of land and natural resources upon written application
 
12 in such form as may be prescribed by the department together with
 
13 payment of a fee.  The application shall require a statement
 
14 under oath of the applicant's name, address, domicile or
 
15 residence, length of residence in the State, age, race, height,
 
16 weight, and color of hair and eyes.  All licenses shall expire
 
17 and become void one year from the date of issuance, except the
 
18 tourist license which shall expire and become void thirty days
 
19 after the date of issuance; provided that no fees or charges
 
20 shall be made for licenses issued to persons sixty-five years of
 
21 age or older.  A duplicate license may be issued upon affidavit
 
22 that the original license has been lost or destroyed and upon the
 
23 payment of a duplicate license fee.  The fees for licenses and
 

 
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 1 duplicate licenses shall be [established by the department by
 
 2 rules adopted in accordance with chapter 91.  The department
 
 3 shall set the fees in an amount that, when combined with the fees
 
 4 provided for in sections 188-37 and 189-2, shall be reasonably
 
 5 necessary to supplement the funding for:
 
 6      (1)  Enforcement of this chapter and section 189-2; and
 
 7      (2)  The activities set forth in section 187A-11.] $5."
 
 8      SECTION 5.  Section 200-10, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 9 amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
 
10      "(c)  The permittee shall pay moorage fees to the department
 
11 for the use permit which shall be based on, but not limited to,
 
12 the use of the vessel, its effect on the harbor, use of
 
13 facilities, and the cost of administering this mooring program;
 
14 and, furthermore:
 
15      (1)  Moorage fees shall be [established by the department
 
16           and shall be higher] $           for residents and
 
17           $           for nonresidents;
 
18      (2)  An application fee shall be collected when applying for
 
19           moorage in state small boat harbors and shall
 
20           thereafter be collected annually when the application
 
21           is renewed.  The application fee shall be[:
 
22           (A)  Set by the department; and
 
23           (B)  Not less than $100] $           for residents and
 

 
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 1                $           for nonresidents;
 
 2      (3)  If a recreational vessel is used as a place of
 
 3           principal habitation, the permittee shall pay, in
 
 4           addition to the moorage fee, a liveaboard fee which
 
 5           shall be:
 
 6           (A)  [$5.20] $           a foot of vessel length a
 
 7                month if the permittee is a state resident; and
 
 8           (B)  [$7.80] $           a foot of vessel length a
 
 9                month if the permittee is a nonresident;
 
10           provided that the liveaboard fees established by this
 
11           subsection may be increased by the department at the
 
12           rate of the annual cost-of-living index, but not more
 
13           than five per cent in any one year, beginning January 1
 
14           of each year; and
 
15      (4)  If a vessel is used for commercial purposes from its
 
16           permitted mooring, the permittee shall pay, in lieu of
 
17           the moorage and liveaboard fee, a fee based on a
 
18           percentage of the gross revenues derived from the use
 
19           of the vessel which shall be not less than two times
 
20           the moorage fee assessed for a recreational vessel of
 
21           the same size."
 
22      SECTION 6.  Section 302A-408, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
23 amended to read as follows:
 

 
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 1      "[[]§302A-408[]]  After-school and weekend programs.  The
 
 2 department and the appropriate county agencies may establish and
 
 3 regulate programs of after-school and weekend community-school
 
 4 activities for children, including but not limited to day-care
 
 5 programs, arts and crafts, hula, ukulele, and other educational
 
 6 or recreational projects, wherever feasible, at public school and
 
 7 public park facilities.  In addition to any appropriation of
 
 8 public funds, [reasonable] fees [established by the agencies
 
 9 operating the programs may be collected from children enrolled,
 
10 in the furtherance of particular programs.] of $           per
 
11 child shall be charged for each child enrolled; provided that the
 
12 department by rule adopted under chapter 91 may reduce the fee
 
13 due to a child's family's economic circumstances or for more than
 
14 one child per family enrolled in the program.  The appropriate
 
15 agencies may obtain from time to time the services of persons in
 
16 a voluntary or unpaid capacity, exempt from chapters 76 and 77,
 
17 as may be necessary for carrying out the purposes of this
 
18 section, and may regulate their duties, powers, and
 
19 responsibilities when not otherwise provided by law.  Any person
 
20 whose services have been so accepted, while engaged in the
 
21 performance of duty under this section, shall be deemed a state
 
22 employee or an employee of a political subdivision, as the case
 
23 may be, in determining the liability of the State or the
 

 
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 1 political subdivision for the negligent acts of these persons."
 
 2      SECTION 7.  Section 302A-435, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 3 amended to read as follows:
 
 4      "[[]§302A-435[]]  Financing adult and community education
 
 5 program.  The financial support for this program shall be [in
 
 6 part] from fees collected from students enrolled[, and in part
 
 7 from public funds appropriated for this purpose].  Fees shall be
 
 8 set in accordance with the recommendations of the advisory
 
 9 council, and may be collected from students regularly enrolled;
 
10 provided that:
 
11      (1)  Adults registered with the department of labor and
 
12           industrial relations and unemployed shall be granted
 
13           free enrollment in such courses as will tend to assist
 
14           these persons in securing employment;
 
15      (2)  Adults certified by the department of human services as
 
16           indigent may be enrolled on a nonfee basis in classes
 
17           that will tend to assist these persons in becoming
 
18           self-sustaining;
 
19      (3)  Discharged veterans who are entitled to federal
 
20           educational assistance shall be enrolled upon
 
21           authorization of the Department of Veterans Affairs and
 
22           fees shall be charged against federal funds in
 
23           accordance with Department of Veterans Affairs contract
 

 
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 1           regulations; and
 
 2      (4)  Administrative and supervisory costs, costs of
 
 3           instruction, and all other necessary expenses [not]
 
 4           shall be covered by fees [and other authorized charges
 
 5           shall be paid for out of funds appropriated for this
 
 6           purpose]."
 
 7      SECTION 8.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
 8 New statutory material is underscored.
 
 9      SECTION 9.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1999.