H.B. 2245 Summary

• Establishes a visitor green fee program administered by the Department of Land and Natural Resources requiring visitors aged 15 and older to pay a fee to access state parks, beaches, state-owned forests, hiking trails, and other state-owned natural areas.

• Creates the environmental legacy commission comprising government officials, nonprofit representatives, Native Hawaiian cultural experts, youth environmental workers, and tourism industry representatives to oversee allocation of collected fees.

• Directs collected revenue into a dedicated visitor green fee special fund to support protection, restoration, and enhancement of Hawaii's state-owned natural resources and climate resilience projects.

• Specifies that fund allocation annually include no more than specified percentages for grants to local governments and nonprofits, program administration, and state natural resource management and enforcement.

• Imposes civil fines for violations of the fee requirement and requires annual legislative reports on how funds restored and protected the state's natural resources.