HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1949

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

S.D. 1

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO THE GREEN FEE.

 

 

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

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the State's natural and cultural resources, including its beaches, reefs, forests, streams, unique ecosystems, and cultural landscapes, form the foundation of the State's identity, economy, and overall well-being.  An increasing volume of tourism places significant pressure on the very resources that sustain the people and environment of the islands.  In response, the State established a "green fee", an increase in the transient accommodations tax and a new imposition of taxes on cruise fares, to mitigate the impacts of tourism and climate change and to support environmental protection, ecosystem restoration, natural resource management, and destination management throughout the State, through the enactment of Act 96, Session Laws of Hawaii 2025.

     The legislature further finds that the green fee represents a transformative opportunity to ensure that those who enjoy the State's natural resources also contribute to their care.  Revenues generated by the fee are intended to support projects such as invasive species removal, coral reef restoration, beach nourishment, cultural site protection, watershed management, enhancements to visitor experience, and resilience against climate change impacts.  To maximize the effectiveness of these funds and maintain public confidence in their use, transparency, oversight, and accountability are essential.

     The legislature also finds that multiple state agencies will receive green-fee-supported appropriations for projects across the islands.  These agencies include but are not limited to those overseeing land and natural resources, state parks, transportation, agriculture, climate resilience, and wastewater and stormwater infrastructure.  While each agency plays a critical role in stewarding the State's environment, the public currently lacks a comprehensive, centralized, and easily accessible source of information about how green fee revenues are allocated, obligated, and expended.

     The legislature additionally finds that the State's public trust responsibilities, as articulated in the Hawaii State Constitution, impose an affirmative duty upon the State to protect and maintain natural resources for present and future generations.  Ensuring transparent and responsible use of the green fee aligns with this duty by allowing residents, visitors, policymakers, and stakeholders to track these environmental investments, monitor project progress, and evaluate whether expenditures are achieving their intended environmental outcomes.

     Furthermore, the legislature finds that establishing a statewide green fee resiliency impact dashboard would support informed decision-making, promote fiscal responsibility, enhance collaboration across agencies, enable real-time public insight into project performance, and strengthen trust in the stewardship of the State's natural and cultural resources.  The dashboard would consolidate data, standardize reporting, and provide clear narratives and metrics illustrating how revenues are used, where projects are located, and what environmental benefits are being realized.

     The legislature concludes that immediate action is necessary to establish a publicly accessible, regularly updated transparency platform that reflects the State's commitment to accountability, responsible resource management, and the long-term health of the State's environment.

     Therefore, the purpose of this Act is to establish a green fee transparency and accountability program and green fee resiliency impact dashboard, to be administered by the Hawaii climate change mitigation and adaptation commission.

     SECTION 2.  The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Chapter

GREEN FEE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY; PROGRAM; DASHBOARD

     §   -1  Definitions.  As used in this chapter:

     "Agency" means any department, board, commission, bureau, office, or other administrative unit of the State or a county that receives, expends, or manages green fee revenues.

     "Commission" means the Hawaii climate change mitigation and adaptation commission established by section 225P-3.

     "County" includes the city and county of Honolulu, county of Hawaii, county of Kauai, and county of Maui.

     "Dashboard" means the online, public-facing, interactive green fee resiliency impact dashboard established by section    -2.

     "Green fee" and "green fee revenues" means the revenue collected pursuant to Act 96, Session Laws of Hawaii 2025, for the purposes of environmental protection, natural resource restoration, climate adaptation, and other related uses as provided by law.

     "Program" means the green fee transparency and accountability program established by section    -2.

     §   -2  Green fee transparency and accountability program; dashboard; establishment.  (a)  There is established within the commission the green fee transparency and accountability program.  The program shall be administered by a green fee transparency and accountability coordinator, who shall be appointed by the commission without regard to chapter 76 and placed within the office of the chairperson of the board of land and natural resources.

     (b)  The program shall:

     (1)  Develop, implement, and maintain an online, public-facing, interactive green fee resiliency impact dashboard that provides clear, timely, and standardized information on:

          (A)  Annual and cumulative green fee revenues collected;

          (B)  Allocations and appropriations by project, program, and agency;

          (C)  Expenditures and obligations, including project-level spending;

          (D)  Project descriptions, objectives, geographic locations, timelines, and performance indicators; and

          (E)  Environmental, economic, cultural, tourism, or climate-resilience outcomes associated with funded activities;

     (2)  Establish uniform reporting requirements and data-submission standards for all agencies receiving or expending green fee revenues;

     (3)  Coordinate with agencies to ensure accurate, complete, and timely transmission of expenditure information, project status updates, and performance metrics, including the department of budget and finance for the tracking of the finances for each project and agency receiving or expending green fee revenues; and

     (4)  Provide an annual public summary of project categories funded by green fee revenues, including reporting on effectiveness, gaps, and opportunities for improvement.

     §   -3  Cooperation by state and county agencies.  Any agency that receives, administers, or expends green fee revenues shall provide any information, data, reports, or documentation requested by the commission or the program within thirty calendar days of the request; provided that the commission may grant extensions, as needed.

     §   -4  Annual report.  No later than December 1 of each year beginning in 2026, the commission shall submit to the legislature, governor, and mayor of each county a report summarizing:

     (1)  The commission's activities under this chapter;

     (2)  Updates and enhancements to the dashboard;

     (3)  In consultation with the department of budget and finance, green fee revenue allocations and expenditures during the prior fiscal year; and

     (4)  Outcomes and performance measures for projects funded with green fee revenues."

     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 2026-2027 for the development, implementation, and maintenance of the green fee resiliency impact dashboard established by section 2 of this Act.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the Hawaii climate change mitigation and adaptation commission for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 4.  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 2025-2026 to be deposited into the special land and development fund established pursuant to section 171-19 to fund green fee projects; provided that the amounts deposited shall not exceed the total amount of green fee revenues collected and realized by the general fund during the fiscal year after making the distributions prescribed in section 237D-6.5(b). The appropriations authorized under this section shall not lapse at the end of the fiscal year for which the appropriations were made.  All unexpended and unencumbered balances of the appropriations made in this section as of the close of business on June 30, 2028, shall lapse to the general fund.

     SECTION 5.  There is appropriated out of the special land and development fund the sum of $           or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 to support the following programs.

ProgID  Program Description            FY27 $    Green Fee

                                               Category

 

AGR141  Irrigation Public Safety               Climate/Hazard

        Power Shutoff Preparedness             Resilience

 

AGR192  Irrigation Public Safety               Climate/Hazard

        and Preparedness                       Resilience

 

AGR192  Hawaii Mesonet                         Climate/Hazard                                   Resilience

 

AGS881  Chinatown Community Cultural           Sustainable

        Enhancement Project                      Tourism

 

BED100  Culinary Destination Management          Sustainable

                                                 Tourism

 

BED101  East West Center Environment           Environmental

        and Climate Coordination               Stewardship

 

BED101  International Relations and            Sustainable

        and Programming                          Tourism

 

BED115  Sports and Signature                   Sustainable

        Events Study                             Tourism

 

BED144  Protection of Mantokuji Bay            Sustainable

                                                 Tourism

 

BED144  Solid Waste Management                 Environmental

                                               Stewardship

 

BED170  Green Energy Study                     Climate/Hazard

                                               Resilience

 

BED170  Water Systems Safety and               Environmental

        Preparedness                           Stewardship

 

BED170  Hawaii-Made Products to                Sustainable

        Enhance Visitor Experience               Tourism

 

DEF118  Hanalei Flood Notification             Climate/Hazard

                                               Resilience

 

DEF118  Warehousing/Pre-covery Pods            Climate/Hazard

                                               Resilience

 

DEF118  Home Retrofit Program                  Climate/Hazard

        (Hurricane)                            Resilience

 

DEF118  Laupahoehoe                            Climate/Hazard

                                               Resilience

 

DEF118  Facilities Assessment for              Climate/Hazard

        Hurricane Refuge Areas                 Resilience

 

EDN100  Facilities Enhancement for             Climate/Hazard

        Disaster Preparedness                  Resilience

 

EDN400  Grounds and Facilities Clean Up         Environmental

                                               Stewardship

 

EDN400  Grounds and Facilities Clean Up         Environmental

                                               Stewardship

 

EDN400  Brush/Vegetation Contracts             Climate/Hazard

                                               Resilience

 

HTH212  Sustainability and hazard              Climate/Hazard

        mitigation Kona and Kohala             Resilience

        Hospital

 

HTH840  Wastewater reclamation facility         Climate/Hazard

                                               Resilience

 

HTH907  Health Center Resiliency               Climate/Hazard

                                               Resilience

 

LNR101  Beach restoration                      Sustainable

                                                 Tourism

 

LNR101  Conservation of Agriculture            Environmental

        and Soil Health                        Stewardship

 

LNR101  Seed Orchards                          Environmental

                                               Stewardship

 

LNR101  Ala Wai Canal flood control            Climate/Hazard

        planning                               Resilience

 

LNR101  Monitoring and Evaluation for          Environmental

        the Green Fee project portfolio         Stewardship

 

LNR101  Beach Restoration - West Maui          Sustainable

                                                 Tourism

 

LNR101  Kaanapali Beach Restoration            Sustainable

                                                 Tourism

 

LNR172  Hale Piula Watertank Replacement        Climate/Hazard

        and Clean Up, Hawaii                   Resilience

 

LNR172  Strengthening Public Safety            Climate/Hazard

        Measures Throughout Hawaiʻi's           Resilience

        State Forest Reserves

 

LNR401  Kauai Coral Restoration Program         Climate/Hazard

                                               Resilience

 

LNR401  Pilot Cesspool Conversions             Climate/Hazard

        in Coral Hotspots                      Resilience

 

LNR401  Na Manu Elele Makai                    Environmental

        (Environmental Ambassador program)        Stewardship

 

LNR401  Regulatory and Interpretive            Sustainable

        Signage Plan and Implementation           Tourism

 

LNR402  West Maui Climate Modeling             Climate/Hazard

                                               Resilience

 

LNR402  Endangered Forest Bird Mosquito         Environmental

        Abatement                              Stewardship

 

LNR404  Funding to Update of the               Environmental

        Hawaiʻi Drought Plan                     Stewardship

 

LNR404  Funding to update the Hawaiʻi           Environmental

        Water Conservation Plan                Stewardship

 

LNR404  Water System Infrastructure            Climate/Hazard

        Inventory and Resilience Study         Resilience

 

LNR405  Protection of Natural Resources         Environmental

                                               Stewardship

 

LNR407  Urban Extreme Heat Temperature         Climate/Hazard

        Reduction Projects                     Resilience

 

LNR407  Climate Resilience Crews               Climate/Hazard

                                               Resilience

 

LNR407  Pia Natural Area Reserve Native         Environmental

        Forest Restoration Project             Stewardship

 

LNR407  Conservation Corps for community        Environmental

        partnership and workforce capacity        Stewardship

        development for green jobs and

        climate resiliency

 

LNR407  Plant Extinction Prevention Program        Environmental

                                               Stewardship

 

LNR407  Endangered Plant Seed Banking          Environmental

                                               Stewardship

 

LNR407  Maui Nui Endangered Species            Environmental

        Predator Control                       Stewardship

 

LNR407  Expanding Invasive Plant Control        Environmental

        in Molokaʻi Core Watershed Areas        Stewardship

 

LNR407  Kuia and Honopu Trail Improvement        Sustainable

                                                 Tourism

 

LNR801  Improvement to coastal infrastructure        Sustainable

                                                 Tourism

 

LNR801  Day-use mooring buoy maintenance        Sustainable

                                                 Tourism

 

LNR804  Na Manu ʻElele Statewide Land           Sustainable

        Steward Program                          Tourism

 

LNR806  Park improvements                      Sustainable

                                                 Tourism

 

LNR806  State Parks Statewide Fire             Climate/Hazard

        Management Plan                        Resilience

 

LNR810  Upgrade and Modernize the              Climate/Hazard

        Hawaiʻi Flood Hazard Assessment         Resilience

        Tool (FHAT), a web-based GIS flood

        map viewer for the State of Hawaii

 

TRN511  Transportation Congestion              Sustainable

        Relief Study                             Tourism

 

TRN995  Kalaeloa Reef Laboratory Project        Climate/Hazard

                                               Resilience

 

UOH100  Aloha Safe Homes - Education/Outreach        Climate/Hazard

                                               Resilience

 

UOH100  Sea Level Rise Impacts on              Climate/Hazard

        Buried Infrastructure                  Resilience

 

UOH100  Protection of Natural Resources         Environmental

                                               Stewardship

 

UOH881  Destination Management                 Sustainable

                                                 Tourism

 

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the designated agencies for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.

 


 

Report Title:

HCCMAC; Green Fee Transparency and Accountability Program; Green Fee Resiliency Impact Dashboard; Appropriations

 

Description:

Establishes the Green Fee Transparency and Accountability Program and Green Fee Resiliency Impact Dashboard, to be administered by the Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission.  Appropriates funds.  Effective 7/1/3000.  (SD1)

 

 

 

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