Honolulu, Hawaii – The House of Representatives committees on
Transportation and Finance Wednesday passed SB4, a critical step in moving the bill forward to provide the funds
needed to complete the City’s rail project.
Stakeholders and the
public testified at the State Capitol today including City, State and HART
officials before both committees voted to pass the bill. Transportation voted 4
to 2 in favor with one excused, and Finance voted 8 to 6 in favor of the bill
with one excused.
Transportation
members voting yes were: Henry Aquino, Nadine Nakamura, Joy San Buenaventura
(with reservations), and Bob McDermott. Voting no were: Sean Quinlan and Tom
Brower. Mark Hashem was excused.
Finance members
voting yes were: Sylvia Luke, Ty J.K. Cullen, Cedric Asuega Gates, Daniel Holt,
Jarrett Keohokalole, Matt LoPresti, Nadine Nakamura and Kyle Yamashita. Voting
no were: Romy Cachola, Bertrand Kobayashi, Lynn DeCoite, Nicole Lowen, Andria
Tupola and Gene Ward. Beth Fukumoto was excused.
The bill contains
two funding mechanisms: a three-year extension of the 0.5 % GET surcharge on Oahu and a 13-year 1%
increase in the TAT statewide. This bill ensures that the City’s rail project
will be sufficiently funded and reaches Ala Moana.
Finance Committee
Chair Sylvia Luke said the bill also mandates accountability for hard-earned
taxpayer money.
“This bill will
provide enough money to fund the City’s rail project to Ala Moana and require
the City to be transparent about how they are spending that taxpayer money,” Rep.
Luke said.
The bill provides
accountability by requiring a state-run audit and annual financial reviews of
the rail project, and requires the State Comptroller to certify HART’s invoices
for capital costs. The bill also requires the Senate President and the House
Speaker to each appoint two non-voting, ex-officio members to the HART board of
directors.
Transportation
Committee Chair Henry Aquino said not depending solely on the GET to fund rail
will save taxpayer money.
“By adding the hotel
room tax to the mix, which provides and immediate cash flow to the project, we
are saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars that would be spend on
financing fees,” Rep. Aquino said.
The bill now moves
to the full House for a vote on second reading tomorrow.
