First meeting of Hawaiʻi’s new Green Fee Advisory Council to be held virtually on Wednesday

Hawaiʻi’s newly created 10-member Green Fee Advisory Council will convene for the first time on Wednesday during a virtual public meeting to discuss how this new climate-impact tax will go into effect and how money generated from this tax will be used.

The green fee, established with the passage of Act 96, is expected to generate about $100 million annually and will be used to build resiliency against the impacts of climate change by providing a stable source of funding for environmental stewardship, hazard mitigation and sustainable tourism, according to the law.

The new few, which takes effect Jan. 1, increases the transient accommodations tax by 0.75%, raising the tax rate to 11% for nightly lodging rates, and for the first time, cruise ship stays also will be subject to the tax. 

During the Hawai‘i County Council meeting on Wednesday, county Director of Finance Diana Nakagawa said the anticipated revenue Hawai‘i County will receive for the first six months of the tax is an estimated $1.5 million.

Jeff Mikulina, chair of the Green Fee Advisory Council, said the council is undertaking a collaborative and deliberative process that balances known community needs and input, consultation with state agencies and departments, as well as alignment with the law.

“The council members are working on developing criteria to evaluate potential initiatives for Green Fee funding, with a focus on impact, feasibility, cost and alignment with the intent of the legislation,” Mikulina stated in an email to Big Island Now.

The advisory council will recommend a prioritized list to the governor. The Green Administration will then work with the State Legislature to confirm which projects will be funded as revenue becomes available. All final appropriations and project selections are done by the State Legislature.

Hawaiʻi County Mayor Kimo Alameda previously said he would like any of Hawai’i County’s wastewater projects to be prioritized for funding allocated to the Big Island.

The virtual meeting of the Green Fee Advisory Council is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Click here to register.

On Wednesday, the Hawai‘i County Council also delayed making a decision about whether to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with neighboring counties and the state to create a uniform plan for how the transient accommodations tax will be allocated in cases where a cruise ship docks in two or more counties during a single day.

The reason was an ongoing lawsuit, filed by Cruise Lines International Association, that challenges the legality of the new tax.

According to the lawsuit, Act 96 is unconstitutional because it levies an 11% surcharge on the gross fares paid by a cruise ship’s passengers, prorated by the portion of its voyage spent docked in Hawai‘i ports.

Mikulina said the council will still be able to provide guidance to Green and the State Legislature about how to appropriate the new tax funds amid the pending lawsuit.

During the Wednesday council meeting, Keyra Wong, deputy corporation counsel, said the plaintiffs in the lawsuit are seeking to have a court find that the state law violates federal law and asking the court to prohibit the state and the counties from implementing Act 96.

Wong said the soonest the motion for a preliminary injunction could be heard is Nov. 5.

“We probably won’t have a decision until mid-November,” Wong said.

Corporation Counsel’s recommendation to the council was to postpone the measure until either the preliminary injunction hearing has an order from the court or until the lawsuit is disposed of completely.

Nakagawa said Maui County Council is holding off on approving this intergovernmental agreement, while the Kaua‘i County Council passed the memorandum of understanding.