HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0236.142 2024-2026CHAIR HOLEKA GORO INABA,
VICE CHAIR DENNIS ONISHI
HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING DATE:
TIME:
PLACE:
Friday, June 4, 2025
9:00 am
Hilo
RE: OPPOSITION TO BILL 47, Draft 2
Dear Chair, Inaba, Vice Chair Onishi, and Council Members:
P /CoWCA
Bill 41
cew. 23,
Hawaii Island
Rental Property
Alliance
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The Hawaii Island Rental Property Alliance (HIRPA) respectfully requests that the Council de
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Bill 47 until the County's economic impact study on short- and mid-term rentals is released and
reviewed.
We understand the bill's stated intent —to improve transparency and accountability. But intent
alone is insufficient, especially when it's not backed by enforceable protections. Without
explicit provisions like amnesty or enforcement limitations, the public is being asked to trust in
good faith, without any written guarantees. That's a dangerous precedent.
Hawaii has seen what happens when legislative processes lack transparency and accountability.
From recent high -profile bribery convictions to late -stage legislative "gut -and -replace" tactics
struck down by our own courts, history shows us how easily stated intentions can be undermined
by behind -the -scenes influence or bad -faith actors. Once a law is passed, its application often
depends less on what was promised and more on who's in charge of enforcing it.
That's why many residents are justifiably concerned that registering today could lead to punitive
enforcement in the future (from DPW, RPT, and Planning) - even if some have stated their
current intent is benign. And that concern is not hypothetical; it's informed by lived experience,
especially after the last-minute amendments and confusion surrounding Bill 121.
Moving forward with this bill before reviewing the study sends a message that the outcome is
already decided and the data is irrelevant. That erodes trust in the government and invites
suspicion rather than cooperation.
What genuine public interest is served by advancing this bill now, rather than waiting just
a few weeks for the results of a study commissioned by this very body to inform the
process?
We urge the Council to:
1. Defer Bill 47 until the study is complete and can guide a clear, evidence -based path
forward.
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Ref. To: _
Red. Dale UN 4 20255
2. Develop a targeted registration program that includes enforceable protections for
voluntary registrants.
3. Include a limited amnesty period to recognize the economic and structural realities
many local families face.
This isn't about avoiding regulation. It's about protecting the public interest from unintended
harm —or worse, intentional misuse by future authorities. A clear, fair, and transparent policy is
the best safeguard we have.
Thank you for your time and continued service.
Jennifer Wilkinson, Board Chair
Hawaii Island Rental Property Alliance