Senate committees pass HB 504 with amendments to fund environmental stewardship; adds $20 port fee, TAT enforcement working group

The Senate committees on Economic Development and Tourism and on Water and Land voted March 18, 2025, in Conference Room 229 to pass House Bill 504 (HD2) as amended (SD1) to create a dedicated funding stream for natural-resource stewardship and restoration. The committee action deleted Part 2 of the bill at the Attorney General's recommendation, added a $20 per-passenger-per-port-entry charge, and directed creation of a working group on transient accommodations tax (TAT) enforcement.

The bill responds to repeated testimony that Hawaii faces a large funding gap for natural-resource protection. Ryan Kanakawale, first deputy director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, said DLNR has identified about $440,000,000 in projects for sustainable tourism, hazard mitigation and climate resilience over the next one to two fiscal years. Jocelyn Herbert of Resources Legacy Fund testified that “Hawaii is facing a $560,000,000 annual shortfall to fund natural resource stewardship.”

Why it matters: backers told the committees HB 504 would create durable funding for forests, reefs, coastal and freshwater resources and help agencies and community groups respond to rising wildfire, flood and storm risks. Opponents — principally industry groups representing hotels, resorts and short-term rentals — warned of administrative complexity, potential economic effects and legal questions about applying a TAT or passenger fee to commercial passenger vessels.

Key…