PART I

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Kona Community Hospital, a facility of the Hawaii health systems corporation, is inadequate to meet the needs of its community. The existing facility was built decades ago, when the local economy was based primarily around sugar plantations. Since that time, acceleration and shifting of economic and population growth in West Hawaii has created a regional urban core far from the existing hospital and with a population too large to be accommodated by its ninety-four bed facility. The legislature finds that long-time community demand for a larger and more accessible hospital in West Hawaii has led Kona Community Hospital to begin the preplanning process for a new, adequate facility.

The legislature further finds that neighbor island tourism, particularly in West Hawaii, has rapidly increased over the last several years. The Kona area's particular economic reliance on tourism taxes its local essential infrastructure, including hospitals, to a greater degree than would resident population alone. Therefore, the legislature finds that it is appropriate for the visitor industry to contribute to supporting the community's infrastructure burden.

The purpose of this measure is to assist with the financing of a new hospital facility for the West Hawaii community by authorizing the issuance of general obligation bonds for that purpose and allocating a portion of the transient accommodations tax to offset costs related to the bond issuance, including interest and debt service.

PART II

SECTION 2. The director of finance is authorized to issue general obligation bonds in the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary is appropriated for fiscal year 2015-2016 for the purpose of financing and refinancing all or any part of the cost of planning, designing, improving, acquiring, constructing, equipping, or furnishing a new hospital in North Kona, to be developed by regional system V of the Hawaii health systems corporation.

The sum appropriated by this Act shall be expended by regional system V of the Hawaii health systems corporation.

SECTION 3. The appropriation made for the capital improvement project authorized by this Act shall not lapse at the end of the fiscal biennium for which the appropriation is made; provided that all moneys from the appropriation unencumbered as of June 30, 2018, shall lapse as of that date.

PART III

SECTION 4. Section 237D-6.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) Revenues collected under this chapter shall be distributed as follows, with the excess revenues to be deposited into the general fund:

(1) $26,500,000 shall be allocated to the convention center enterprise special fund established under section 201B-8;

(2) $82,000,000 shall be allocated to the tourism special fund established under section 201B-11; provided that:

(A) Beginning on July 1, 2012, and ending on June 30, 2015, $2,000,000 shall be expended from the tourism special fund for development and implementation of initiatives to take advantage of expanded visa programs and increased travel opportunities for international visitors to Hawaii;

(B) Of the $82,000,000 allocated:

(i) $1,000,000 shall be allocated for the operation of a Hawaiian center and the museum of Hawaiian music and dance at the Hawaii convention center; and

(ii) 0.5 per cent of the $82,000,000 shall be transferred to a sub-account in the tourism special fund to provide funding for a safety and security budget, in accordance with the Hawaii tourism strategic plan 2005-2015; and

(C) Of the revenues remaining in the tourism special fund after revenues have been deposited as provided in this paragraph and except for any sum authorized by the legislature for expenditure from revenues subject to this paragraph, beginning July 1, 2007, funds shall be deposited into the tourism emergency trust fund, established in section 201B-10, in a manner sufficient to maintain a fund balance of $5,000,000 in the tourism emergency trust fund;

(3) $103,000,000 for fiscal year 2014-2015, $103,000,000 for fiscal year 2015-2016, and $93,000,000 for each fiscal year thereafter shall be allocated as follows: Kauai county shall receive 14.5 per cent, Hawaii county shall receive 18.6 per cent, city and county of Honolulu shall receive 44.1 per cent, and Maui county shall receive 22.8 per cent; provided that commencing with fiscal year 2018-2019, a sum that represents the difference between a county public employer's annual required contribution for the separate trust fund established under section 87A-42 and the amount of the county public employer's contributions into that trust fund shall be retained by the state director of finance and deposited to the credit of the county public employer's annual required contribution into that trust fund in each fiscal year, as provided in section 87A-42, if the respective county fails to remit the total amount of the county's required annual contributions, as required under section 87A-43;

(4) $3,000,000 shall be allocated to the Turtle Bay conservation easement special fund established under section 201B-8.6 for the payment of debt service on revenue bonds, the proceeds of which were used to acquire the conservation easement in Turtle Bay, Oahu, until the bonds are fully amortized; [~~and~~]

(5) Of the excess revenues deposited into the general fund pursuant to this subsection, $3,000,000 shall be allocated subject to the mutual agreement of the board of land and natural resources and the board of directors of the Hawaii tourism authority in accordance with the Hawaii tourism authority strategic plan for:

(A) The protection, preservation, and enhancement of natural resources important to the visitor industry;

(B) Planning, construction, and repair of facilities; and

(6) Of the excess revenues deposited into the general fund pursuant to this subsection, $ shall be allocated to the department of budget and finance for the payment of expenses, including interest and debt service, related to the issuance of general obligation bonds to finance the cost of planning, designing, improving, acquiring, constructing, equipping, or furnishing a new hospital in North Kona pursuant to Act , Session Laws of Hawaii 2015.

All transient accommodations taxes shall be paid into the state treasury each month within ten days after collection and shall be kept by the state director of finance in special accounts for distribution as provided in this subsection.

As used in this subsection, "fiscal year" means the twelve-month period beginning on July 1 of a calendar year and ending on June 30 of the following calendar year."

PART IV

SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2015.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	379
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII