2018-01-19 Letter to Donovan Dela Cruz & Sylvia Luke re Hawaii Council of Mayors Initiatives for the 2018 Legislative Session

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January 19, 2018 To: Honorable Donovan Dela Cruz, Chair & Members Senate Committee on Ways and Means Honorable Sylvia Luke, Chair & Members House Committee on Finance Subject: Hawai‘i Council of Mayors Initiatives for the 2018 Legislative Session The Hawaii Council of Mayors extends our appreciation to Committee Chairs Senator Donovan Dela Cruz and Representative Sylvia Luke, as well as to each member of these honorable committees for this opportunity to present our legislative priorities to you today. As Mayors, we are united on those issues that impact our counties collectively. Each of our counties also has its own unique issues, so we are grateful that each mayor has an opportunity to share their county’s respective legislative requests with you. We are enthusiastic to work in collaboration with each of you to explore solutions to the issues facing all of us this legislative session. As Mayors, we are unified and respectfully asking for your support on the following three issues: (1) Fair Distribution of TAT between State and Counties – HCOM urges the legislature to adopt and follow the State-County Functions Working Group’s recommendations as to what would be a fair distribution of TAT funds between the state and counties. Specifically, HCOM recommends that the Legislature support HB 1665 that provides a 55-45 percent split between the state and counties, in lieu of the Legislature placing a cap of $103 million for all counties. While we appreciate the TAT funds provided each county, the counties must again emphasize our right to a fair share of the TAT and believe that the 55-45 % split is fair. (2)Lifeguard Tort Liability – The counties seek your support for HB 1662 to permanently provide legal immunity for county lifeguards to ensure civil liability protection for county lifeguards – a benefit state lifeguards have. .