2019 Hawaii Legislative Watch: Reports

For the past few years, I’ve read through the bill summaries to find out about the bills being proposed that affect our money, education, and rights. I relied on these summaries to accurately reflect the legislators’ intentions, and I highlighted the bills that I thought needed the most consideration and debate.

This year, I decided to do something different. Instead of skimming through 1,597 House bills and 1,545 Senate bills introduced this year, I thought I’d focus on what government accomplished last year.

During the 2019 Hawaii Legislative session, there are 430 Reports to the Legislature. Here are five of the annual reports that I think deserve careful attention:

Taxes: Department of Taxation (DOTAX) Annual Report

Total State tax collections in FY 2018 were $7.90 billion, a 7.6% increase from FY 2017, which were $7.34 billion. Revenue from the General Excise Tax (GET), accounting for 43% of the State’s total tax collections, increased 4.9% to $3.40 billion in FY 2018 from $3.24 billion in FY 2017. Revenue from Hawaii’s Individual Income Tax (IIT), Hawaii’s second largest tax, accounting for 31% of the State’s total tax collections, increased 11.0% to $2.43 billion in FY 2018 from $2.19 billion in FY 2017. Revenue from the Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT), which increased from 9.25% to 102.5% starting January 1, 2018, increased 9.2% to $554.9 million in FY 2018 from $504.8 million in FY 2017.

Housing: Hawaii Public Housing Authority (HPHA) Annual Report

The Hawaii Public Housing Authority (HPHA) portfolio consists of 6,270 units across 85 properties. Combined, Federal and State housing sheltered 5,193 individuals and families, with average rents of $310 to $387 for families and $251 to $303 for elderly. “Low Income” families earn 80% of area median income (AMI) or less, which is $93,280 for a family of four in the Honolulu metropolitan area. “Extremely low income” families earn 30% AMI or less, which is $34,980 for a family of four in the Honolulu metropolitan area.

Kupuna: Executive Office on Aging (EOA) Annual Report

With funding of $19,269,823, State and Federal services assisted an estimated 7,129 older adults. The Office served 175 elderly with 7,366 one-way trips of assisted transportation, 969 elderly with 46,847 hours of personal care, 285 elderly with 81,499 hours of adult day care, 3,288 elderly with 386,089 home delivered meals, and 268 caregivers with 32,062 hours of respite care for elderly family members.

Native Hawaiians: Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) Annual Report

In FY 2018, OHA generated $60.5 million in total revenue and expended $39.7 million for the Board of Trustees, Support Services, and Beneficiary Advocacy, with total assets of $427.8 million. OHA awarded $8.75 million in grants and $318,040 in sponsorships.

One of the DOT’s goals is to “Increase Voluntary Compliance” by a. Increasing oversight utilizing various branches/areas of our Compliance Division and b. Developing procedures to ensure a more efficient and timely audit process.” They really should add a third strategy, “c. Simplifying the tax code and tax forms.”

Honolulu Rail Transit: Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) Annual Report

HART currently estimates to the cost of Honolulu rail transit at $8.165 billion (excluding finance costs), with December 2025 as the target date for the start of full revenue operations. An interim opening from Kualaka‘i at East Kapolei Station to Hālawa at Aloha Stadium Station is planned for December 2020. As of October 2018, $3.349 billion has been spent on the project, which is approximately 46.8% complete.

The 2019 Hawaii Legislature adjourns on May 2. Please think about these issues and how they may affect you, everyone around you, and future generations. Whether you have concerns or feel strongly about an issue, speak up, talk about it, and be part of the discussion.

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Tags: 2019 Hawaii Legislature, Hawaii Legislature, Reports to the Hawaii Legislature

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