Dead or Alive: Final bills to come out of conference committee

In an unusually early ending to conference committee negotiations (the past few years, negotiations continued until midnight, the final decking deadline) House and Senate lawmakers agreed on conference drafts of the SB 570, SB 1186 and HB1039.

SB 570: The pension tax provision was deleted; bill repeals state tax deduction and caps itemized deductions on higher income taxpayers.

SB1186: The Counties' share of the TAT capped at $93 million (earlier proposals: House-$101M, Senate-$85M). The Hawaii Tourism Authority's share capped at $69 million.

HB1039: Adjustment to rental car surcharge; divert money to the general fund for one year.

A few of the bills that died in conference committee: plastic bag fees, alcohol tax increase, and medical marijuana distribution center pilot project.