H.B. 2719 Summary

• Requires the Office of Planning to prepare a feasibility and implementation plan for assessing a per-visitor, per-stay green fee on tourists to fund conservation and natural resource management.

• Plan must analyze Hawaii's estimated $360 million annual conservation funding gap, examine existing tax structures, develop proposed fee rates to close the gap over five years, and include a ten-year implementation timeline with rollout beginning no later than 2022.

• Mandates creation of an advisory group including state agencies, business representatives, non-governmental organizations, legislators, and the Hawaii climate change mitigation and adaptation commission to inform plan development.

• Requires interim progress report to legislature by December 31, 2020, and final report with proposed legislation by October 31, 2021.

• Appropriates $300,000 from general revenues for fiscal year 2020-2021 to fund the feasibility study; effective July 1, 2020.