Lawmakers look to exert more control over Hawaii Tourism Authority

The Hawaii Tourism Authority has support among state senators who have restored its $60 million budget, but those same lawmakers want more control over the lead tourism agency.

The Senate Committee on Energy, Economic Development and Tourism and the Senate Committee on Government Operations amended House Bill 1785 on Wednesday to restore HTA’s $60 million budget. But lawmakers want to reorganize the agency, and in addition they want to designate how much of the money should be directed toward administration costs and the agency’s four pillars: natural resources, Hawaiian culture, community and brand marketing.

HB 1785 aims to come up with a new model for tourism governance by 2025. But state Sen. Glenn Wakai (D, Kalihi-Salt Lake-Aliamanu), who chairs the Senate Committee on Energy, Economic Development and Tourism, said, “We really see the necessity for us to take a bit of action in reorganizing the Hawaii Tourism Authority now.”

Sen. Sharon Moriwaki (D, Kakaako-McCully-Waikiki), who chairs the Senate Committee on Government Operations, said the bill amendments specify that HTA may spend up to $12.9 million on Hawaiian culture, $7.6 million on natural resources, $16.4 million on community relations, $18.2 million on branding and $3.9 million on administration costs.

Moriwaki said the intent among lawmakers is to lock HTA into their own budget appropriations.

“In the past it was all one big budget, so they used it as they saw fit,” she said. “They are using government money. There has to be some degree of accountability.”

Additionally, Wakai said the bill would require HTA to make all of its marketing contracts performance-based, and to limit the scope of a contractor’s work to the pillar that they were hired to address.

“Let’s say they are the brander; they are not to be allowed to go and engage in other responsibilities and have people that are less competent doing culture and natural resources and the community just because they are the big marketing contractor,” he said.

Wakai said the committee intends to retain all 25 HTA employees in the budget; however, it will insert a reorganization chart redescribing some of the positions to better fit the agency’s four pillars.

The restructuring of the House bill by the Senate and the attempt to reorganize HTA comes as the agency’s funding status within the state budget is undetermined.

HTA had asked state lawmakers to fund a $60 million budget, which included money for the 25 positions and a $28.5 million expenditure ceiling for a Hawai‘i Convention Center enterprise special fund. It also included $64 million in capital improvement funds to repair the convention center’s leaky roof.

However, the state House of Representatives transmitted a version of the state budget, HB 1600, to the Senate that allotted a dollar to pay for HTA operations and eliminated all money for staffing. The House transmitted version allocated just $1 for the convention center and $1,000 to fix its roof.

The Senate Committee on Ways and Means held a hearing Tuesday on the transmitted budget but deferred decision-making until April 5.

The Senate could choose to eliminate HTA funding from the state budget and instead fund it through a bill giving legislators more ability to redirect the agency’s mission.

HTA was established in 1998 through a legislative act to serve as the state’s lead agency supporting tourism. About 20 years ago legislators amended an appropriations bill to require that the same contractor must market and manage the Hawai‘i Convention Center. It was only in the past few years that this statutory requirement was lifted.

These latest proposed amendments would take HB 1785 well beyond its original intent to direct the Legislative Reference Bureau to conduct a study that identifies and analyzes alternative tourism governance systems.

HTA President and CEO John De Fries said during the Wednesday hearing that HTA supported the earlier version of the legislation.

“The reason we support this is HTA over its 20-plus-year history has served Hawaii well. Can the model be improved?Absolutely. Which is why we believe that having the Legislative Research Bureau conduct the study that is being proposed is the prudent approach to redoing the Hawaii Tourism Authority.”

The amended bill is a new wrinkle for HTA and continues several years of progressively tougher pushback from state lawmakers, who have been critical of the agency’s role in managing tourism.