It was almost two months ago that attorneys for the state and the cruise industry laid out their case on the legality of the Green Fee for cruise ships.
The United States Court of Appeals panel is still deliberating.
Ben Snyder is the attorney for Cruise Lines International Association, or CLIA. He argued that federal laws, including the Tonnage Clause and the Rivers and Harbors Appropriations Act, prohibit Hawaiʻi from imposing undue fees on cruise ships and their passengers.
Andrew Teoh is with the state’s Department of the Attorney General. He defended the Green Fee in light of other taxes that states such as Alaska, Florida, and Texas levy on ships.
The state has not been collecting any Green Fee money from the cruise industry due to the ongoing litigation.
A bill this past legislative session aimed to carve out a compromise and lessen the fee for cruise ships, but the measure died in conference committee.
Adrian Tam chairs the House Tourism Committee and spoke with HPR about what lawmakers had hoped for — and why it didn’t happen.
“I think on both sides, both the state and the cruise ship sides, we want to avoid a very costly lawsuit, so we wanted to find some middle ground or a compromise, and that ultimately became the bill that was proposed, was a per-passenger head count of a $10 fee, and those $10 will go towards harbor improvements and several environmental protection costs in the area,” Tam explained.
Tam added cruise ships bring economic benefits to Hawaiʻi, which is why he introduced HB 1945. The measure would allow for cruise ship gaming within Hawaiʻi waters, but not while docked in ports.
Although the bill did not pass, Tam said he hopes the state can balance what is best for the environment and the economy.
“I think the Green Fee will have a lot of benefits for the state; we've already collected several millions of dollars off of it, and we are spending it on our natural environment,” he said. “We are putting it in disaster mitigation, and the plus side for our visitor industry is that part of the Green Fee will also go towards sustainable tourism. … It also is beneficial for the residents of Hawaiʻi, because as we continue to see insurance rates go up, insurance companies are looking for places that are willing to invest in disaster mitigation and to prevent these disasters.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is expected to issue a decision on the cruise industry’s case in July.
This story aired on The Conversation on June 12, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Hannah Kaʻiulani Coburn adapted this story for the web.
