H.B. 1615 Summary

• Adds five state officials as nonvoting ex officio members to the Hawaii Tourism Authority board: the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Director of Transportation; Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources; Director of Agriculture; and Executive Director of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.

• Renames the "Tourism Marketing Plan" to the "Tourism Branding Plan" throughout the Hawaii Revised Statutes and emphasizes Hawaii brand management as a core function of the authority.

• Expands the authority's powers to include implementing community-based destination management action plans developed in partnership with counties and developing programs to perpetuate Hawaiian culture and engage local communities.

• Changes the requirement that state and county agencies "may" render services upon request of the authority to "shall" render services, making assistance mandatory.

• Repeals the Hawaii Tourism Authority Advisory Board, consolidating advisory functions through the new ex officio board members.