2025-12-15 Liquor Commission Minutes Hilo (Special Meeting)

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it's just as important for you folks to attend these conferences so you have a greater understanding of what comes before you. I also feel like attending these conferences in person is actually also very important because again, you put a face to the name you know, you build your network and you also get to see firsthand how the businesses, the liquor establishments around the conference venue operate and how they do business. Okabe: No. 10, while we are called the Department of Liquor Control, the scope of our enforcement is possibly expanding to include matters such as tobacco, marijuana, and ensuring tax and regulatory compliance. Do you feel that expansion in this scope is appropriate or inappropriate, and why? Waltjen: So for tobacco you know, is currently enforced by the Department Health, State, if the State needed assistance with tobacco enforcement you know, I will consult with Corporation Counsel to see if this is something that we can even do, and if it is you know, find out how as a Department we will be compensated and how we can ensure that our investigators get the proper training to do tobacco enforcement. If you know, they cannot get properly trained and don't get compensated, it's taking away from our main function which is alcohol enforcement, then I don't think it's appropriate. For marijuana, you know medical marijuana is legal and it's enforced by the Department of Health, I do believe it's only a matter of time before recreational marijuana is legalized. If and when it is, I believe that it's appropriate for it to stay with the State because they already have systems set up for enforcement and regulations. And I also think that the State you know, still generates so much revenue that the State would not want to give it up. For the tax and regulatory contributions compliance, so you know, we already I guess enforce the state tax clearances, which when an applicant comes in and they apply for a license, they have to provide their state tax clearance. Licensees also have to provide their state tax clearances when they renew their license. So you know, we will make sure that they have that in order, and if not you know, we have some instances where during the renewal period maybe a licensee for whatever reason can't obtain their state tax clearance. So you know, they've worked with the State tax office to be put on a payment plan, right? We will accept that payment plan in lieu of the state tax clearance because we want to be able to make sure that these businesses can keep running, and keep operating, right? They also have to provide their DCCA (Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs), which is the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs registration when they apply for the liquor license and when they renew their liquor license. So, we just make sure that they have you know, filed their annual filing on time. It's a great way for us to also check to see if there's any changes to the members, managers or officers. And a lot of the times that's when you do notice that there's been a change to the licensees, for whatever reason they failed to let us know. So then, we'll contact them to let them know that they need to update their officers or managers. MINUTES - LIQUOR COMMISSION MEETING SPECIAL MEETING - MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2025 - HILO PAGE 21 OF 35