REP FC 180 12/02/1997 1996-1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

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REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE DATE: December 2, 1997 Re: Comm. No. 595/Res. No. 192 PLACE: Councilroom TIME: 10:50 A.M. Chair and Members Hawaii County Council Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred Resolution No. 192, reports as follows: Resolution No. 192, transmitted by Chief Engineer Donna Fay K. Kiyosaki, via Communication No. 595, dated November 20, 1997, adopts a proposed Special Tax Fuel Program which extends the existing fuel tax rate of 8.8 cents for diesel on-highway, gasoline on-highway and others, and 6.8 cents for LPG on-highway until June 30, 2001. The projected annual revenue generated by this fuel tax proposal is $2.5 million. The first fuel tax imposed upon Hawaii counties for the sale of gasoline and other liquid fuel was established in 1955 at 1 cent per gallon by Section 243-5 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes. The section states, the amount of each County's fuel tax shall be determined by resolution and adopted by the Council in the manner provided by law relating to expenditures of public money. The amount fixed maybe, per gallon, one or more cents or a fraction of a cent or both, or it may be zero. In 1977, the Council increased the fuel tax to 5 cents per gallon. Sequentially, the Council adopted Resolution No. 397-88 which increased the tax by an additional 3.8 cents per gallon. Resolution No. 397-88 was also instrumental in creating the Fuel Tax Increase Expenditure Plan that provided for the expenditure of anticipated annual revenues. The revenues were to be used for road improvement projects over a ten year period delineated in five increments. This measure also established a district apportionment formula, to be updated biannually, based upon a percentage derived from each district's percentage of vehicle weight tax and road miles. Most recently, Resolution No. 351-91 amended the original Fuel Tax Expenditure Plan by providing for revenues more than the monthly projected amount to be available for allotment to circle-island or round-the-island roadways, and allowing the Chief Engineer to apply appropriations toward the hiring of consultants for the prosecution of a particular project. It also modified the biannual update requirement of the distribution formula to biennial. In addition to creating a Special Fuel Tax Program, Resolution No. 192 also proposes to extend the existing fuel tax rate, establish a new revenue distribution system to better account for inequities, and addresses other categories of work as follows: Bridge Inspection, repair and replacement; FHWA Street Resurfacing, Repair, Improvement; Local Street Resurfacing, Repair, Improvement; Highway Safety Improvements; and New Construction. FC REPORT No. 180