HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0236.067 2024-2026IN OPPOSITION OF BILL 47
To Whom IT May Concern,
I OPPOSE BILL 47!
COUNTY CLERK
COUNTY OF ;-IAWA� fl
20177 MAY 1.11 € I i i - 2
May 18, 2025
PLEASE DO NOT MOVE FORWARD ON BILL 47 UNTIL THE ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY IS
COMPLETED!
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As I said in my testimony two weeks ago, you are hurting good people. You are out of
touch. You are taking money away from the island because you are cowards. Yes, cowards.
Paid for cowards. I have tried to be nice for years while you hold us under your thought of
legislation, but you all don't give a f about us. Why? Because you don't live our lives. You
wish to one day leave us behind you on a resume. I truly hope someone is reading this. I truly
hope that someone, or many people, are reading the hundreds of opposition testimonies to Bill
47. Because it doesn't feel that way. It seems that all this political theater to push forward an
unpopular, harmful bill for the benefit of the few against the harm to thousands upon thousand
here on the Big Island.
We are the ones that invest in this island. We attract people to visit and stay in areas
that they would have no ability to do so otherwise. The money they pay us, we are taxed on,
which goes back to the island. The money they pay us, we spend in local stores, gas stations,
and markets. The money they pay us we spend on school supplies for our children and their
food. And guess what else? The visitors that stay with us ALSO spend their money at local
markets, restaurants, stores, gas stations, etc. They help keep our small, local economies alive.
If this dumpster fire of a bill actually passes, and nobody with power to stop it does so,
and hundreds if not thousands of short term rentals close their doors forever- I am so curious
as to what the next step is? What will fill the void? Besides the mental aguish so many will go
through, and are already going through just having to fight for our right to make a hard earned
dollar, is there a job creation bill to follow? Is there some sort of stimulus package for small
communities that currently benefit from the tourist cashflow due to short term rentals but don't
live around hotels? When hard times are made harder for no reason, what are we as the people
supposed to think about those that were voted in to represent our best interests? If it wasn't so
destructive it would be comical. But there is nothing funny going on here.
Do you all think we make hotel type money? Do you think we sit around all day and just
throw the keys as the visitors arrive and they throw us blocks of gold in return? Let me tell you
that this method of making income will not make you rich (in my experience) and is not easy. I
did it in the hopes of establishing a small, humble, family business that I could pass on one day
to my 2 small children and maybe make their situation a bit easier. But if you think I'm going to
plan a future for them based on politicians that want to change the rules whenever they want
and threaten my family with fines we can't afford, I'm telling you now that I can't and I won't.
AirBnB is a review based platform. If we don't provide a safe, clean, healthy experience
then we receive a bad review. Maybe you are unaware of this, but if you receive just one, ZERO
or ONE star review, AirBnB gives us a single chance to either state our case as to why that isn't
fair, or improve our standards. If we do not succeed in either of these methods, we get kicked
off the platform, never allowed to do business with them again. Now, why on earth do we need
any more incentive to do a good job? Obviously the vast majority of hosts want to provide a
safe and beautiful experience for our guests anyway even without the threat of consequence,
but since this bill is written in such black and white, policing, regulatory language- maybe that
is all you out there understand. A!rBnB is a self cleaning oven. If we don't get good reviews, we
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don't get business. If we don't get business, we go out of business. It is rather simple. But here
is this needless Bill 47 suggesting we as hosts need another blade to our necks, another hoop
to jump through. Is this really how the Big Island operates these days.
Our island is so different from one shore to the other, from the Mauna to the sea. Our
island celebrates this diversity. How is a blanket Bill, written for every zone and district to
conform to intelligent in any fashion? How can anyone with a heart or the smallest
understanding of economics think this is good for us? We are not Oahu. We are not the
mainland. We don't have to adopt everything they do. We can pass something truly original
down to the next generation. But this Bill? The legacy of this Bill will be putting families,
struggling families out of business, and in some cases, perhaps more than I want to even
consider- will be forced to move. We in Lower Puna are somehow still in business after the
eruption while so many of our neighbors had it worse. We still still operating short term rentals
on the Big Island are somehow still in business after a pandemic and travel lockdown while so
many others had it worse. We are somehow still in business with 5 dollar gas prices and 7
dollar 2x4's and 12 dollar cartons of eggs, while so many others have it worse. But if you allow
this bill to pass, you will be achieving what none of those hardships could. You will put us out
of business. You will shut us down.
Short term rentals on the Big Island create so many jobs, bring in so much tax revenue,
and have such a close to zero complaint rate that if it were a program that Ashley or Heather
had come up with they would be running for reelection based on its success alone. You know
this and I know this. If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it. Well this bill won't fix anything, it'll just
make more people broke.
Jason de Bruyn