KA ‘AHA KENEKOA
THE THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION OF 2026
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Senator Lynn DeCoite, Chair |
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Senator Glenn Wakai, Vice Chair |
NOTICE OF HEARING
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DATE: |
Tuesday, February 3, 2026 |
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TIME: |
1:00 PM |
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PLACE: |
Conference Room 229 & Videoconference State Capitol 415 South Beretania Street |
PHOTO ID REQUIRED FOR ENTRANCE TO THE STATE CAPITOL
BUILDING HOURS: 7AM TO 5PM, MONDAY - FRIDAY
The Legislature is accepting written, videoconference, and in-person testimony at public hearings.
A live stream of all Senate Standing Committee meetings will be available on the Senate YouTube Channel.
A G E N D A
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RELATING TO CONSUMER PROTECTION. Makes it an unfair or deceptive act or practice for businesses to: offer, display, or advertise the price of live-ticket events or short-term lodging without clearly and conspicuously disclosing the total price; and misrepresent any fees or charges in any offer, display, or advertisement for the sale of live-event tickets or short-term lodging.
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EDT, CPN |
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RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND TOURISM. Requires the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to study the impacts of the incremental minimum wage increases pursuant to Act 114, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022, on businesses and other employers. Requires a report to the Legislature. Appropriates funds.
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EDT, WAM |
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RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND TOURISM. Establishes the Hawaii Dementia Initiative Business Recognition Program within the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism. Appropriates moneys.
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EDT, WAM |
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RELATING TO SPORTS TOURISM. Requires the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to conduct a study of the potential economic benefits and costs of sports tourism in the State. Requires a report to the Legislature. Appropriates funds.
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EDT, WAM |
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RELATING TO THE FILM INDUSTRY. Establishes the Hawaii Film Commission within the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism for administrative purposes only and transfers the rights, powers, functions, and duties of the Hawaii Film Office to the Commission. Establishes the Film Industry Development Special Fund. Excludes media and film from the definition of creative industries and renames the Hawaii Film and Creative Industries Development Special Fund as the Hawaii Creative Industries Development Special Fund. Amends the sources of moneys to be deposited into the Hawaii Creative Industries Development Special Fund, including requiring all revenues, fees, and charges from the processing of the Motion Picture, Digital Media, and Film Production Income Tax Credit to be deposited into the Film Industry Development Special Fund, rather than the Hawaii Creative Industries Development Special Fund. Allows the Creative Industries Development Special Fund to be used for the support and development of facilities and other initiatives to grow the State's creative industries. Requires the Governor to appoint Commission members, the Director of Business, Economic Development to appoint the Executive Director of the Commission, and the Executive Director to hire staff by 12/31/2027. Requires annual reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds.
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EDT, WAM |
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RELATING TO THE MOTION PICTURE, DIGITAL MEDIA, AND FILM PRODUCTION INCOME TAX CREDIT. Increases the Motion Picture, Digital Media, and Film Production Income Tax Credit to 27 per cent of qualified production costs in counties with a population of over seven hundred thousand and 32 per cent in counties with a population of seven hundred thousand or less. Requires each taxpayer claiming the tax credit to submit an independent third-party certification verifying certain information to the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism. Excludes qualified productions that incur at least $60 million of qualified production costs from the per-production total tax credit cap of $17 million. Increases the total amount of tax credits allowed to be claimed annually to $60 million. Defines "streaming platform" and amends the definition of "qualified production" to include certain streaming productions. Extends the sunset date of the tax credit to 1/1/2038.
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EDT, WAM |
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RELATING TO TAXATION. Imposes the manufacturing general excise tax rate on motion picture, digital media, and film productions and repeals the provision in the definition of "qualified production costs" that applied the term to mean costs incurred that are subject to the highest general excise tax rate. Exempts from the general excise tax amounts received by a motion picture project employer from a client company equal to amounts that are disbursed by the motion picture project employer for employee wages, salaries, payroll taxes, insurance premiums, and employment benefits and payments to loan-out companies.
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EDT, WAM |
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Decision Making to follow, if time permits.
All testimony received by the Hawai‘i Senate is posted on the Hawai‘i Legislature's website, which is accessible to the public. Please do not include private information that you do not want disclosed to the public.
Please go to the Legislature's website, https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov, to submit written testimony at least 24 hours prior to the hearing. Create a free account on the website, or sign in to an existing account, then click on the "Participate" drop down menu and select the "Submit Testimony" option to get started. While submitting your written testimony, you will be prompted to indicate if you would also like to testify at the hearing in-person or remotely via videoconference.
Please note the following:
· The number of oral testifiers and/or time allotted to each testifier may be limited by the Chair when necessary to adhere to the committee hearing schedule. We may not be able to accommodate everyone who requests to testify orally.
· Testifiers for this hearing will be limited to 2 minutes each.
If you wish to testify via videoconference during the hearing, please review the detailed step-by-step instructions for testimony procedures before you submit your written testimony. Here's a direct link to the instructions: https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/docs/testimonyinstructions.pdf
For general help navigating the committee hearing process, please contact the Public Access Room at (808) 587-0478 or par@capitol.hawaii.gov. You can also visit their website at https://lrb.hawaii.gov/par/.
For special assistance: The cable TV broadcast and/or live stream of this meeting will include closed captioning. If you need an auxiliary aid/service or other accommodation due to a disability, please call the committee clerk at the telephone number listed below or email EDTcommittee@capitol.hawaii.gov. Requests made as early as possible have a greater likelihood of being fulfilled.
For amended notices: Measures that have been deleted are stricken through and measures that have been added are underscored. If a measure is both underscored and stricken through, that measure has been deleted from the agenda.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL THE COMMITTEE CLERK AT 808-587-7225.
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_____________________________________ Senator Lynn DeCoite Chair |
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