No portion of this Legislative Update may be reproduced without the expressed consent of the Hawaii Association of REALTORS®.

Please email govtaffairs@hawaiirealtors.com for consent consideration.

Thursday, April 14th was the 2nd Crossover Deadline. This critical deadline, with two weeks to go, means that bills from the other chamber are sent back to the chamber of its origin (i.e., House Bills, amended or unamended are returned by the Senate to the House).

Unamended bills returned to the chamber of its origin are sent up to the Governor to be signed into law, allowed to become law without her signature, or vetoed. If the Senate and House disagree on a bill, they go to "conference", where members are appointed by the House and Senate to work out their differences.

Friday, April 29 is the Decking Deadline of Fiscal Bills (i.e., appropriation or spending bills, tax credits/increase, etc.). A bill form agreed to by the conferees of both House and Senate is "decked" or placed on the members' desks for a 48-hour period before final debate takes place.

    GENERAL EXCISE TAX INCREASE - HB 1309     

Since April 1, over 2000 letters from REALTORS® and the pubic were faxed Representatives and Senators at the State Capitol using our Legislative contact program opposing the general excise tax increase. We have two weeks to get the word out to everyone in Hawaii. HAR has increased the number of print ads and will begin with radio ads starting Monday, April 18.

HAR cannot speculate what will happen in conference but House Bill 1309 can change drastically when members of the House of Representatives and the Senate meet in conference to work out their differences. If both chambers cannot come to a compromise, the bill will be stalled in conference.

We need to increase the pressure on our elected officials at the State Capitol with only two weeks to go.

We urge you to:

1. Get the word out to your families, friends, and colleagues on this issue and how the proposed tax increase will raise the cost of everything you buy in Hawaii. Let them know that they can send in their letters by visiting www.hawaiirealtors.com.

2. Help support this cause by sending a donate to the Issues Mobilization Program (IMP). Send a check to: HAR IMP, 1136 12th Avenue, Suite 220, Honolulu, HI 96816 or for a credit card donation, download an IMP form at www.hawaiirealtors.com/impfund.pdf and fax to 808-737-4977.

3. Distribute information on this issue when attending events or meetings. HAR has provided for you two handouts that you can distribute below.

General Excise Tax Information Handout

Newspaper Advertisement Handout

CONVEYANCE TAX INCREASE - HB 1308 & SB 179

The Legislature is again attempting to raise fees and taxes for their general coffers. At the beginning of the session, there was a variety of proposals to increase the conveyance tax. After HAR's efforts in testifying in opposition, only two bills are viable for possible passage this session, House Bill 1308 and Senate Bill 179.

House Bill 1308, in its current form, proposes to increase the conveyance tax on a sliding scale. The amount of the increase has been left blank until the Senate and House meeting in conference.

Senate Bill 179 is a housing omnibus bill to address the Hawaii's affordable housing and homelessness problem. In its current form, the bill proposes to increase the conveyance tax by charging 10 cents per $100 for property up to $600,000 and 15 cents per $100 for property over $600,000. There is a stipulation that if the residential property is not eligible for a county homeowner's exemption on property tax, the conveyance will be 15 cents per $100 for property up to $600,000 and 20 cents per $100 for property over $600,000.

The proposed tax increase will have the effect of increasing the cost of homes and rental properties in Hawaii. Such a cost increase will clearly not make housing more affordable for renters or homeowners. The Legislative Committee of the Hawaii Association of REALTORS® will delivery letters to all 76 legislators at the State Capitol on Tuesday, April 19 in urging them not to pass any conveyance tax increase.

TAX ON STATE FUEL AND MOTOR VEHICLES TO FUND MASS TRANSIT - HB 1645

For the most part, the intent of House Bill 1645 was to reserve a portion of state fuel tax revenues paid in Honolulu to pay for a fixed guideway mass transit system.

On April 12th, the Senate Committee on Ways and Means amended the bill enabling counties to raise county fuel tax rates and to establish an ad valorem tax on motor vehicles to fund mass transit.

LAND USE - HB 109

House Bill 109 allows counties to recommend rural district amendments and form an advisory group to redefine districts and to conduct a study to develop policy recommendations to expand and enhance rural districts. It also requires each county to consider long-range land use patterns contained in rural policy standards developed by only that county. The bill will not go into conference.

LAND USE - HB 1442

House Bill 1442 allows counties with a population under 500,000 to require subdividers and developers to provide a right-of-way or easement to connect existing or proposed shoreline access points for reasonable public access along the shoreline, unless precluded by topography, so the public and other cultural practitioners can easily and safely traverse shoreline areas. The bill will not go into conference.

For the most current and detailed information on bills, go to http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov for bill status and descriptions.

If you have any questions or comments you would like to forward to the Legislative Committee, please call the Government Affairs Division at 733-7060 or 1-888-737-9070, or by e-mail at govtaffairs@hawaiirealtors.com.