One of the key questions this legislative session has been on how the Green Fee, the new increased tax on hotels and cruise ships, would be spent.
The law passed last year requires that a total of about $100 million in revenue be spent on three categories: protecting natural resources, increasing climate resiliency and sustainable tourism.
The list differs significantly from what Gov. Josh Green initially proposed. That was largely decided by his Green Fee Advisory Council, which evaluated projects submitted before the legislative session.
Some additions included $3.7 million for a biosecurity facility at the University of Hawaiʻi, $900,000 for a green energy study and $7 million for a food and product innovation network.
What’s been cut? $5 million for community groups working to stop the spread of invasive species, $1.6 million to protect native birds from diseases like malaria and $7 million for a visitor program where tourists could work with community groups on conservation efforts run by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority.
“What we've seen in this near final list of Green Fee projects that the legislature is advancing, is a healthy mix that includes a lot of the recommendations from the Green Fee Advisory Council,” said Green Fee Advisory Council Chair Jeff Mikulina. “ In large measure it does accomplish those original goals. Of course it doesn't have everything the council was asking for. There's some other projects in there, some interesting things that I think we believe are aligned with that original intent and then some other projects that you could have some healthy debate about whether or not that fits, but by-and-large, it is in line with what I think folks were expecting these dollars to go toward.”
The list is part of the state’s overall budget, which will soon be voted on by both chambers.
Another issue at the Legislature has been how to address the spike in immigration enforcement.
One measure advanced on Wednesday. ACLU Hawaiʻi’s Mandy Fernandes explained that it fixes an inconsistency between state and federal law.
“At the federal level, deportation or removal proceedings will automatically be triggered if you are convicted of a crime that carries a possible sentence of a year or more,” she said. “And in Hawaiʻi, we have our misdemeanors as carrying a possible sentence of up to a year.”
She pointed to the one-day overlap in state law that automatically triggers a federal deportation proceeding.
“At the federal level, it's really just meant to capture what they call aggravated felonies. And they're defining aggravated felonies as something that carries a year or more of possible periods of incarceration,” she said. “So it's inadvertently almost sweeping up a lot of people that did not commit an aggravated felony.”
The measure that made it out of committee reduces the maximum sentence for a non-violent misdemeanor to 364 days.
Several other immigration protection measures are still moving through the Legislature, including one that would limit immigration enforcement without a judicial warrant in and around protected community locations.
Another would require state and county law enforcement to inform people of their rights before they speak with immigration enforcement authorities.
These measures have until Friday to make it out of its conference committees.
A bill that would have barred law enforcement from concealing their identity failed to make it through yesterday’s legislative deadline.
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