Bills For A New Ride-Share Fee And A Climate-Impact Fee Advance
The ride-share proposal originally set the proposed fee at 25 cents per ride, but the latest draft does not say exactly how much the fee would be.
State lawmakers gave tentative approval Tuesday to a new fee that would be charged to users of ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft and another proposed new climate-impact fee mostly aimed at tourists.
The House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee approved , which was proposed by Gov. Josh Green earlier this year as a $25 fee that would be charged to visitors who stay in hotels or other transient vacation rentals.
The committee amended the bill to remove all specific dollar amounts including the $25 figure, meaning the actual amount of the fee will have to be determined later in this year’s legislative session if the bill continues to advance.
Leaving dollar values blank in bills is a routine practice at the Legislature, where most of the final taxing and spending decisions are made in the final days of each session.
The Green administration estimates a $25 fee would raise $68 million, money Green wants to earmark largely for environmental protection. The money would be deposited into a newly created Climate Health and Environmental Action Special Fund., according to the bill.
The governor has also said he wants at least half of the money generated from the new fee to go toward a state disaster recovery fund, or disaster insurance.
The new fee was supported by an array of environmental groups, including the the and the . It was also backed by dozens of individual testifiers.
The measure was opposed by the and the .
The also raised concerns about the bill. “We would issue caution about imposing additional financial burdens on the state鈥檚 largest industry that provides the greatest number of jobs for our residents,” it said.
Lobbyist testified on behalf of the , suggesting the bill as written would levy the new fee on law-abiding hotels but would fail to impose the fee on tens of thousands of illegal vacation rentals now operating in Hawaii.
“As written we have noted our thoughts and our concerns around where the collection is happening, and most importantly, who is being ignored in not having to pay these fees,” McClellan said in an interview. “We know that none of these illegal operators will pay this fee.”
He said the association supports the new fund to raise money for environmental protection and preservation, but asked lawmakers on Tuesday “to consider removing that burden on our hotel properties that are working very diligently to care for” Hawaii and its people.
The House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee Chairwoman Nicole Lowen and Reps. Elle Cochran, Kirstin Kahaloa and Amy Perruso voted in favor of the measure. Reps. Cedric Gates, Justin Woodson and Gene Ward were absent for the vote.
The measure now goes to the House Finance Committee for further consideration.
Also Tuesday, the Senate Transportation and Culture and the Arts Committee gave preliminary approval to , which was introduced last month as a measure to impose a new 25 cent-per-ride charge on all ride-share trips.
“As ridesharing continues to grow, its impact is felt more and more in Hawaii’s communities, and on its roads,” the bill says, adding that ride-share services are often utilized by visitors.
“Visitors and rideshare platforms should contribute more to address the infrastructure and road safety issues they exacerbate and help alleviate the burden on local residents of improving and maintaining roads and infrastructure,” according to the bill.
The original bill proposed to deposit the revenue from the new tax into the Highway Fund, which is used to maintain state roads and highways. That version of the measure was supported by the state Department of Transportation, but it is unclear how much money the new fee would raise.
The bill was opposed by Dale Evans, CEO of AllWays Charley’s Taxi, who said in written testimony that adding another tax on overtaxed Hawaii residents and visitors is “anti-consumer and unacceptable.”
Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Chris Lee said Tuesday he was amending the bill to leave the amount of the new fee blank, meaning the size of the fee will be decided later if the bill advances.
Lee said he would also amend the bill to direct the revenue from the new fee to special fund. Money from that fund is distributed to the counties to help fund projects to create safe routes for children to walk or bike to school.
Voting in favor of the bill were Lee and Sens. Dru Kanuha and Brandon Elefante. Sen. Lorraine Inouye voted against the measure, and Sen. Brenton Awa was absent. The measure now advances to the Senate Ways and Means Committee for further consideration.
