HB469

SECTION 1. The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding a new chapter to title 5 to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Chapter

hawaii state dividend special fund

§ -1 Definitions. As used in this section:

"Application period" means January 1 through March 31 of the dividend year.

"Dividend year" means the calendar year in which an individual applies for and receives a Hawaii state dividend fund payment based on a qualifying year.

"Qualifying year" means the calendar year preceding the dividend year.

§ -2 Hawaii state dividend special fund; established. (a) There is established the Hawaii state dividend special fund into which shall be deposited the following moneys:

(1) Three per cent of the general revenues of the State; and

(2) Transient accommodations tax revenues allocated to the Hawaii state dividend special fund pursuant to section 237D-6.5.

(b) Moneys in the Hawaii state dividend special fund shall be used to issue a Hawaii state dividend fund payment on an annual basis to each eligible individual.

§ -3 Administration; duties. (a) The Hawaii state dividend special fund shall be administered by the office of the lieutenant governor.

(b) The lieutenant governor shall:

(1) Adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 as the lieutenant governor deems necessary for verifying the eligibility of an individual for a Hawaii state dividend fund payment;

(2) Prescribe and furnish an application form for claiming a Hawaii state dividend fund payment; and

(3) Annually pay Hawaii state dividend fund payments from the Hawaii state dividend special fund.

§ -4 Eligibility. An individual is eligible to receive one Hawaii state dividend fund payment each calendar year in an amount to be determined by -6 if the individual:

(1) Applies for the Hawaii state dividend fund payment within the application period and in the manner prescribed by the lieutenant governor;

(2) Is a resident of the State on the date of application;

(3) Was a resident of the State for the entire qualifying year and intends to remain a resident of the State indefinitely at the time of application;

(4) Except as provided for in section -5, has not been absent from the State for more than ninety cumulative days during the qualifying year;

(5) Is over the age of eighteen; and

(6) Is not currently incarcerated.

§ -5 Allowable absences. (a) An otherwise eligible individual who is absent from the State for more than ninety cumulative days during the qualifying year remains eligible for a Hawaii state dividend fund payment if the individual was absent because the individual was:

(1) Receiving a secondary or postsecondary education on a full-time basis;

(2) Receiving vocational, professional, or other specific education on a full-time basis for which a comparable program is not reasonably available in the State;

(3) Serving on active duty as a member of the armed forces of the United States;

(4) Serving under foreign or coastal articles of employment aboard an oceangoing vessel of the United States merchant marine;

(5) Receiving continuous medical treatment recommended by a licensed physician or convalescing as recommended by the physician who treated the illness if the treatment or convalescence is not based on a need for climatic change;

(6) Providing care for the individual's terminally ill family member;

(7) Providing care for a parent, spouse, sibling, child, or stepchild with a critical life-threatening illness whose treatment plan, as recommended by the attending physician, requires travel outside the State for treatment at a medical specialty complex;

(8) Settling the estate of the individual's deceased parent, spouse, sibling, child, or stepchild; provided that the absence does not exceed two hundred twenty cumulative days;

(9) Serving as a member of the United States Congress;

(10) Serving on the staff of a member of the United States Congress representing this State;

(11) Serving as an employee of the State in a field office or other location;

(12) Accompanying a minor who is absent pursuant to paragraph (5);

(13) Accompanying another eligible individual who is absent for a reason permitted under paragraph (1), (2), (5) through (12), (16), or (17) as the spouse or disabled dependent of the eligible individual;

(14) Serving as a volunteer in the federal peace corps program;

(15) Training or competing as a member of the United States Olympic team or a United States national team for an Olympic sport;

(16) Participating for educational purposes in a student fellowship sponsored by the United States Department of Education or by the United States Department of State;

(17) For any reason consistent with the individual's intent to remain a resident of the State; provided that the absence or cumulative absences do not exceed:

(A) One hundred eighty days in addition to any absence or cumulative absences claimed under paragraph (3) if the individual is not claiming an absence under paragraph (1), (2), or (4) through (16);

(B) One hundred twenty days in addition to any absence or cumulative absences claimed under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) if the individual is not claiming an absence under paragraphs (4) through (16) but is claiming an absence under paragraph (1) or (2); or

(C) Forty-five days in addition to any absence or cumulative absences claimed under paragraphs (1) through (16) if the individual is claiming an absence under paragraphs (4) through (16).

(b) An individual may not claim an allowable absence under subsection(a)(1) through (16) unless the individual was a resident of the State for at least six consecutive months immediately before leaving the State.

(c) After an individual has been absent from the State for more than one hundred eighty days in each of the five preceding qualifying years, the office of the lieutenant governor shall presume that the individual is no longer a state resident for purposes of this chapter. The individual may rebut this presumption by providing clear and convincing evidence to the office of the lieutenant governor that:

(1) The individual was physically present in the State for at least thirty cumulative days during the past five qualifying years; and

(2) The individual is a resident of the State.

(d) To determine whether an individual intends to return and remain in the State indefinitely, the lieutenant governor shall consider all relevant factors, including:

(1) The length of time the individual was absent from the State compared to the length of time the individual was physically present in the State;

(2) The frequency and duration of voluntary return trips to the State during the past five years;

(3) Whether the individual's intent to return to and remain in the State is conditioned on future events beyond the individual's control;

(4) The ties the individual has established with the State or another jurisdiction, as demonstrated by:

(A) Maintenance of a home;

(B) Payment of resident taxes;

(D) Registration of a vehicle;

(E) Registration to vote and voting history;

(F) Acquisition of a driver's license, business license, or professional license; and

(G) Receipt of benefits under a claim of residency in the State or another jurisdiction; and

(5) The priority that the individual gave the State on an employment assignment preference list, including a list used by military personnel.

(e) For the purposes of this section, "family member" means a person who is:

(1) Legally related to the individual through marriage or guardianship; or

(2) The individual's sibling, parent, grandparent, son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, or first cousin.

§ -6 Amount of dividend; notice. (a) By of each dividend year, the lieutenant governor shall determine and provide public notice of the value of each Hawaii state dividend fund payment for that year by:

(1) Determining the total amount available in the Hawaii state dividend special fund;

(2) Determining the number of individuals eligible to receive a Hawaii state dividend fund payment for the qualifying year; and

(3) Dividing the amount determined under paragraph (1) by the number determined under paragraph (2).

(b) By of each dividend year, the lieutenant governor shall provide written notice to those applicants who are determined to be ineligible for a Hawaii state dividend fund payment.

SECTION 2. Section 237D-6.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) Except for the revenues collected pursuant to section 237D-2(e), revenues collected under this chapter shall be distributed in the following priority, with the excess revenues to be deposited into the general fund:

(1) $1,500,000 shall be allocated to the Turtle Bay conservation easement special fund beginning July 1, 2015, for the reimbursement to the state general fund of debt service on reimbursable general obligation bonds, including ongoing expenses related to the issuance of the bonds, the proceeds of which were used to acquire the conservation easement and other real property interests in Turtle Bay, Oahu, for the protection, preservation, and enhancement of natural resources important to the State, until the bonds are fully amortized;

(2) $11,000,000 shall be allocated to the convention center enterprise special fund established under section 201B-8;

(3) An allocation shall be deposited into the tourism emergency special fund, established in section 201B-10, in a manner sufficient to maintain a fund balance of $5,000,000 in the tourism emergency special fund; [~~and~~]

(4) $3,000,000 shall be allocated to the special land and development fund established under section 171-19; provided that the allocation shall be expended in accordance with the Hawaii tourism authority strategic plan for:

(A) The protection, preservation, maintenance, and enhancement of natural resources, including beaches, important to the visitor industry;

(B) Planning, construction, and repair of facilities; and

(C) Operation and maintenance costs of public lands, including beaches, connected with enhancing the visitor experience[.]; and

(5) One per cent shall be allocated to the Hawaii state dividend special fund established under section -2.

All transient accommodations taxes shall be paid into the state treasury each month within ten days after collection and shall be kept by the state director of finance in special accounts for distribution as provided in this subsection."

SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2023-2024 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2024-2025 for the purposes of this Act, including the hiring of any personnel needed to carry out the purposes of this Act.

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the office of the lieutenant governor for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2023; provided that the initial application period shall begin on January 1, .

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	469
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023
STATE OF HAWAII