A bill that would determine the next steps for Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority heads to conference to be heard by lawmakers Friday morning.
House Bill 1375 repeals the semi-autonomous agency to create a new office in the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism that would be focused on tourism management.
During a press conference last week, HTA president and CEO John De Fries said disbanding the agency would have unintended consequences. That includes a loss of federal funds and destination management plans for each island.
Earlier this year, lawmakers called into question how the authority handled its decision and awarding of contract bids.
"Local residents have to be the priority," said Rep. Sean Quinlan of Oʻahu in February. Quinlan chairs the House tourism committee and introduced HB 1375 this session.
Additionally, a final version of the state budget bill was approved by conferees on Tuesday as it makes its way to the governor's desk for one last signature. However, the measure failed to include operational funding for Hawaiʻi's leading tourism department.
The missing funds are part of a larger discussion that lawmakers are currently having to disband HTA. The decision to omit the agency from the budget could have repercussions on other local initiatives, such as the upkeep of the Hawaiʻi Convention Center, which partially relies on an allotment from HTA each year.
The bill faces conferees at 10 a.m. in conference room 325 of the Hawaiʻi State Capitol, or streamed live on the Senate's Youtube channel.
