HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 671 Draft 01 2014-2016 01 OF M,, ••
COUNTY OF HAWAII ��" % STATE OF HAWAII
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RESOLUTION NO. 671. 16
A RESOLUTION URGING THE 2017 HAWAII STATE LEGISLATURE TO PASS
LEGISLATION ALLOWING THE COUNTIES TO IMPLEMENT A HIGH-STAKES
BINGO PROGRAM.
WHEREAS, both the State and the counties are in need of additional streams of revenue;
and
WHEREAS, both the State and the counties have made a concerted effort to reduce
expenditures to the maximum extent possible; and
WHEREAS, while the Council would prefer not to resort to any form of gaming in order
to raise revenue, legislators on the county councils and in the State Legislature are realistic about
the revenue short fall affecting long-term projects, such as upgrades to wastewater and solid
waste facilities, mass transit systems, and roads and bridges; and
WHEREAS, both the State and counties are reluctant to place additional tax burdens on
individuals and businesses; and
WHEREAS, various casino gambling bills have been proposed in order to raise revenue,
but all were defeated; and
WHEREAS, studies have shown that full-scale casino gambling attracts negative social
ills and may reflect adversely on the State's image of paradise and aloha; and
WHEREAS, independent high-stakes bingo operations alone do not attract negative
social ills and would not carry the same negative image that would affect our"aloha" State; and
WHEREAS, high-stakes bingo is an activity carried out in a group setting, often
encouraging social interaction among those in attendance; and
WHEREAS, H.R. No. 177 (2013 State Legislative Session)proposed the creation of a
task force to study various forms of gaming, which was defeated largely due to the estimated
cost($850,000) of such a comprehensive study; and
WHEREAS, allowing for high-stakes bingo programs on a county-by-county basis is
another way to assess the pros and cons of any gaming program as a feasible and acceptable
means of raising additional revenue; and
WHEREAS, implementation of a high-stakes bingo program would result in additional
revenue that would be divided equally between the State and county for essential services,
without further taxation; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII that it
hereby urges the 2017 Hawai`i State Legislature to pass legislation allowing the counties to
implement a high-stakes bingo program.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that attached is a proposed bill (Exhibit A), relating to
a high-stakes bingo program, to be considered at the 2017 legislative session.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the County Clerk shall transmit a copy of this
resolution to the Honorable Governor David Y. Ige; all Hawai`i State Senators and
Representatives; the Director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and
Tourism; and the Honorable Mayor William P. Kenoi.
Dated at Hilo , Hawai`i, this 2nd day of November , 2016 •
INTRODUCED BY:
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CO C ME BER, C• N OF HAWAII
COUNTY COUNCIL ROLL CALL VOTE
County of Hawai`i AYES NOES ABS EX
Hilo, Hawai`i CHUNG X
DAVID X
I hereby certify that the foregoing RESOLUTION was by EOFF X
the vote indicated to the right hereof adopted by the COUNCIL of the ILAGAN X
County of Hawaii on November 22016
KANUHA X
ONISHI X
A I TES"? PALEKAStitA, N.0
X
POINDEXTER X —_
WILLE X
6 3 0 0_ _
Reference: C-1092/GREDC-8
COUNTY CLERK CHAIRPERSON & PRESIDING OFFICER RESOLUTION NO. 671 1f
2
Exhibit A
.B . NO.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO A HIGH-STAKES BINGO PROGRAM FOR THE COUNTIES .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
1 SECTION 1 . Both county and State governments are in need
2 of new revenue streams . The counties in particular do not want
3 to increase real property taxes . Some form of gaming would
4 provide additional income without imposing new taxes or other
5 fees . In light of accompanying social ills and crime, the people
6 of this State are reluctant to allow for any large-scale casino
7 gambling to become established. On the other hand, high-stakes
8 bingo is generally accepted as not having the same adverse
9 impact on the local community. The counties and State believe
10 that concerns about high-stakes bingo can be addressed and
11 should not be a bar to initiating a program.
12
13 SECTION 2 . Section 46-1 . 5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
14 amended to read as follows :
15
16 "§46-1.5 General powers and limitation of the counties. Subject
17 to general law, each county shall have the following powers and
18 shall be subject to the following liabilities and limitations :
19 (1) Each county shall have the power to frame and adopt a
20 charter for its own self-government that shall
21 establish the county executive, administrative, and
22 legislative structure and organization, including but
23 not limited to the method of appointment or election
24 of officials, their duties, responsibilities, and
25 compensation, and the terms of their office;
26 (2) Each county shall have the power to provide for and
27 regulate the marking and lighting of all buildings and
28 other structures that may be obstructions or hazards
29 to aerial navigation, so far as may be necessary or
30 proper for the protection and safeguarding of life,
31 health, and property;
32 (3) Each county shall have the power to enforce all claims
33 on behalf of the county and approve all lawful claims
34 against the county, but shall be prohibited from
35 entering into, granting, or making in any manner any
36 contract, authorization, allowance payment, or
37 liability contrary to the provisions of any county
38 charter or general law;
39 (4) Each county shall have the power to make contracts and
40 to do all things necessary and proper to carry into
41 execution all powers vested in the county or any
42 county officer;
43 (5) Each county shall have the power to:
44 (A) Maintain channels, whether natural or artificial,
45 including their exits to the ocean, in suitable
46 condition to carry off storm waters;
47 (B) Remove from the channels, and from the shores and
48 beaches, any debris that is likely to create an
49 unsanitary condition or become a public nuisance;
50 provided that, to the extent any of the foregoing
51 work is a private responsibility, the
52 responsibility may be enforced by the county in
53 lieu of the work being done at public expense;
54 (C) Construct, acquire by gift, purchase, or by the
55 exercise of eminent domain, reconstruct, improve,
56 better, extend, and maintain projects or
57 undertakings for the control of and protection
58 against floods and flood waters, including the
59 power to drain and rehabilitate lands already
60 flooded; and
61 (D) Enact zoning ordinances providing that lands
62 deemed subject to seasonable, periodic, or
63 occasional flooding shall not be used for
64 residence or other purposes in a manner as to
65 endanger the health or safety of the occupants
66 thereof, as required by the Federal Flood
67 Insurance Act of 1956 (chapter 1025 , Public Law
68 1016) ;
69 (6) Each county shall have the power to exercise the power
70 of condemnation by eminent domain when it is in the
71 public interest to do so;
72 (7) Each county shall have the power to exercise
73 regulatory powers over business activity as are
74 assigned to them by chapter 445 or other general law;
75 (8) Each county shall have the power to fix the fees and
76 charges for all official services not otherwise
77 provided for;
78 (9) Each county shall have the power to provide by
79 ordinance assessments for the improvement or
80 maintenance of districts within the county;
81 (10) Except as otherwise provided, no county shall have the
82 power to give or loan credit to, or in aid of, any
83 person or corporation, directly or indirectly, except
84 for a public purpose;
85 (11) Where not within the jurisdiction of the public
86 utilities commission, each county shall have the power
87 to regulate by ordinance the operation of motor
88 vehicle common carriers transporting passengers within
89 the county and adopt and amend rules the county deems
90 necessary for the public convenience and necessity;
91 (12) Each county shall have the power to enact and enforce
92 ordinances necessary to prevent or summarily remove
93 public nuisances and to compel the clearing or removal
94 of any public nuisance, refuse, and uncultivated
95 undergrowth from streets, sidewalks, public places,
96 and unoccupied lots . In connection with these powers,
97 each county may impose and enforce liens upon the
98 property for the cost to the county of removing and
99 completing the necessary work where the property
100 owners fail, after reasonable notice, to comply with
101 the ordinances . The authority provided by this
102 paragraph shall not be self-executing, but shall
103 become fully effective within a county only upon the
104 enactment or adoption by the county of appropriate and
105 particular laws, ordinances, or rules defining "public
106 nuisances" with respect to each county' s respective
107 circumstances . The counties shall provide the
108 property owner with the opportunity to contest the
109 summary action and to recover the owner' s property;
110 (13) Each county shall have the power to enact ordinances
111 deemed necessary to protect health, life, and
112 property, and to preserve the order and security of
113 the county and its inhabitants on any subject or
114 matter not inconsistent with, or tending to defeat,
115 the intent of any state statute where the statute does
116 not disclose an express or implied intent that the
117 statute shall be exclusive or uniform throughout the
118 State;
119 (14) Each county shall have the power to:
120 (A) Make and enforce within the limits of the county
121 all necessary ordinances covering all :
122 (i) Local police matters;
123 (ii) Matters of sanitation;
124 (iii) Matters of inspection of buildings;
125 (iv) Matters of condemnation of unsafe structures,
126 plumbing, sewers, dairies, milk, fish, and
127 morgues; and
128 (v) Matters of the collection and disposition of
129 rubbish and garbage;
130 (B) Provide exemptions for homeless facilities and any
131 other program for the homeless authorized by part
132 XVII of chapter 346, for all matters under this
133 paragraph;
134 (C) Appoint county physicians and sanitary and other
135 inspectors as necessary to carry into effect
136 ordinances made under this paragraph, who shall
137 have the same power as given by law to agents of
138 the department of health, subject only to
139 limitations placed on them by the terms and
140 conditions of their appointments; and
141 (D) Fix a penalty for the violation of any ordinance,
142 which penalty may be a misdemeanor, petty
143 misdemeanor, or violation as defined by general
144 law;
145 (15) Each county shall have the power to provide public
146 pounds; to regulate the impounding of stray animals
147 and fowl, and their disposition; and to provide for
148 the appointment, powers, duties, and fees of animal
149 control officers;
150 (16) Each county shall have the power to purchase and
151 otherwise acquire, lease, and hold real and personal
152 property within the defined boundaries of the county
153 and to dispose of the real and personal property as
154 the interests of the inhabitants of the county may
155 require, except that :
156 (A) Any property held for school purposes may not be
157 disposed of without the consent of the
158 superintendent of education;
159 (B) No property bordering the ocean shall be sold or
160 otherwise disposed of; and
161 (C) All proceeds from the sale of park lands shall be
162 expended only for the acquisition of property for
163 park or recreational purposes;
164 (17) Each county shall have the power to provide by charter
165 for the prosecution of all offenses and to prosecute
166 for offenses against the laws of the State under the
167 authority of the attorney general of the State;
168 (18) Each county shall have the power to make
169 appropriations in amounts deemed appropriate from any
170 moneys in the treasury, for the purpose of :
171 (A) Community promotion and public celebrations;
172 (B) The entertainment of distinguished persons as may
173 from time to time visit the county;
174 (C) The entertainment of other distinguished persons,
175 as well as, public officials when deemed to be in
176 the best interest of the community; and
177 (D) The rendering of civic tribute to individuals who,
178 by virtue of their accomplishments and community
179 service, merit civic commendations, recognition,
180 or remembrance;
181 (19) Each county shall have the power to:
182 (A) Construct, purchase, take on lease, lease,
183 sublease, or in any other manner acquire, manage,
184 maintain, or dispose of buildings for county
185 purposes, sewers, sewer systems, pumping
186 stations, waterworks, including reservoirs,
187 wells, pipelines, and other conduits for
188 distributing water to the public, lighting
189 plants, and apparatus and appliances for lighting
190 streets and public buildings, and manage,
191 regulate, and control the same;
192 (B) Regulate and control the location and quality of
193 all appliances necessary to the furnishing of
194 water, heat, light, power, telephone, and
195 telecommunications service to the county;
196 (C) Acquire, regulate, and control any and all
197 appliances for the sprinkling and cleaning of the
198 streets and the public ways, and for flushing the
199 sewers; and
200 (D) Open, close, construct, or maintain county
201 highways or charge toll on county highways;
202 provided that all revenues received from a toll
203 charge shall be used for the construction or
204 maintenance of county highways;
205 (20) Each county shall have the power to regulate the
206 renting, subletting, and rental conditions of property
207 for places of abode by ordinance;
208 (21) Unless otherwise provided by law, each county shall
209 have the power to establish by ordinance the order of
210 succession of county officials in the event of a
211 military or civil disaster;
212 (22) Each county shall have the power to sue and be sued in
213 its corporate name;
214 (23) Each county shall have the power to establish and
215 maintain waterworks and sewer works; to collect rates
216 for water supplied to consumers and for the use of
217 sewers; to install water meters whenever deemed
218 expedient; provided that owners of premises having
219 vested water rights under existing laws appurtenant to
220 the premises shall not be charged for the installation
221 or use of the water meters on the premises; to take
222 over from the State existing waterworks systems,
223 including water rights, pipelines, and other
224 appurtenances belonging thereto, and sewer systems,
225 and to enlarge, develop, and improve the same;
226 (24) (A) Each county may impose civil fines, in addition
227 to criminal penalties, for any violation of
228 county ordinances or rules after reasonable
229 notice and requests to correct or cease the
230 violation have been made upon the violator. Any
231 administratively imposed civil fine shall not be
232 collected until after an opportunity for a
233 hearing under chapter 91 . Any appeal shall be
234 filed within thirty days from the date of the
235 final written decision. These proceedings shall
236 not be a prerequisite for any civil fine or
237 injunctive relief ordered by the circuit court;
238 (B) Each county by ordinance may provide for the
239 addition of any unpaid civil fines, ordered by
240 any court of competent jurisdiction, to any
241 taxes, fees, or charges, with the exception of
242 fees or charges for water for residential use and
243 sewer charges, collected by the county. Each
244 county by ordinance may also provide for the
245 addition of any unpaid administratively imposed
246 civil fines, which remain due after all judicial
247 review rights under section 91-14 are exhausted,
248 to any taxes, fees, or charges, with the
249 exception of water for residential use and sewer
250 charges, collected by the county. The ordinance
251 shall specify the administrative procedures for
252 the addition of the unpaid civil fines to the
253 eligible taxes, fees, or charges and may require
254 hearings or other proceedings . After addition of
255 the unpaid civil fines to the taxes, fees, or
256 charges, the unpaid civil fines shall not become
257 a part of any taxes, fees, or charges . The
258 county by ordinance may condition the issuance or
259 renewal of a license, approval, or permit for
260 which a fee or charge is assessed, except for
261 water for residential use and sewer charges, on
262 payment of the unpaid civil fines . Upon
263 recordation of a notice of unpaid civil fines in
264 the bureau of conveyances, the amount of the
265 civil fines, including any increase in the amount
266 of the fine which the county may assess, shall
267 constitute a lien upon all real property or
268 rights to real property belonging to any person
269 liable for the unpaid civil fines . The lien in
270 favor of the county shall be subordinate to any
271 lien in favor of any person recorded or
272 registered prior to the recordation of the notice
273 of unpaid civil fines and senior to any lien
274 recorded or registered after the recordation of
275 the notice . The lien shall continue until the
276 unpaid civil fines are paid in full or until a
277 certificate of release or partial release of the
278 lien, prepared by the county at the owner' s
279 expense, is recorded. The notice of unpaid civil
280 fines shall state the amount of the fine as of
281 the date of the notice and maximum permissible
282 daily increase of the fine. The county shall not
283 be required to include a social security number,
284 state general excise taxpayer identification
285 number, or federal employer identification number
286 on the notice . Recordation of the notice in the
287 bureau of conveyances shall be deemed, at such
288 time, for all purposes and without any further
289 action, to procure a lien on land registered in
290 land court under chapter 501 . After the unpaid
291 civil fines are added to the taxes, fees, or
292 charges as specified by county ordinance, the
293 unpaid civil fines shall be deemed immediately
294 due, owing, and delinquent and may be collected
295 in any lawful manner. The procedure for
296 collection of unpaid civil fines authorized in
297 this paragraph shall be in addition to any other
298 procedures for collection available to the State
299 and county by law or rules of the courts;
300 (C) Each county may impose civil fines upon any person
301 who places graffiti on any real or personal
302 property owned, managed, or maintained by the
303 county. The fine may be up to $1, 000 or may be
304 equal to the actual cost of having the damaged
305 property repaired or replaced. The parent or
306 guardian having custody of a minor who places
307 graffiti on any real or personal property owned,
308 managed, or maintained by the county shall be
309 jointly and severally liable with the minor for
310 any civil fines imposed hereunder. Any such fine
311 may be administratively imposed after an
312 opportunity for a hearing under chapter 91, but
313 such a proceeding shall not be a prerequisite for
314 any civil fine ordered by any court . As used in
315 this subparagraph, "graffiti" means any
316 unauthorized drawing, inscription, figure, or
317 mark of any type intentionally created by paint,
318 ink, chalk, dye, or similar substances;
319 (D) At the completion of an appeal in which the
320 county' s enforcement action is affirmed and upon
321 correction of the violation if requested by the
322 violator, the case shall be reviewed by the
323 county agency that imposed the civil fines to
324 determine the appropriateness of the amount of
325 the civil fines that accrued while the appeal
326 proceedings were pending. In its review of the
327 amount of the accrued fines, the county agency
328 may consider:
329 (i) The nature and egregiousness of the
330 violation;
331 (ii) The duration of the violation;
332 (iii) The number of recurring and other similar
333 violations;
334 (iv) Any effort taken by the violator to correct
335 the violation;
336 (v) The degree of involvement in causing or
337 continuing the violation;
338 (vi) Reasons for any delay in the completion of
339 the appeal; and
340 (vii) Other extenuating circumstances .
341 The civil fine that is imposed by administrative
342 order after this review is completed and the
343 violation is corrected shall be subject to
344 judicial review, notwithstanding any provisions
345 for administrative review in county charters;
346 (E) After completion of a review of the amount of
347 accrued civil fine by the county agency that
348 imposed the fine, the amount of the civil fine
349 determined appropriate, including both the
350 initial civil fine and any accrued daily civil
351 fine, shall immediately become due and
352 collectible following reasonable notice to the
353 violator. If no review of the accrued civil fine
354 is requested, the amount of the civil fine, not
355 to exceed the total accrual of civil fine prior
356 to correcting the violation, shall immediately
357 become due and collectible following reasonable
358 notice to the violator, at the completion of all
359 appeal proceedings;
360 (F) If no county agency exists to conduct appeal
361 proceedings for a particular civil fine action
362 taken by the county, then one shall be
363 established by ordinance before the county shall
364 impose the civil fine;
365 (25) Any law to the contrary notwithstanding, any county
366 mayor, by executive order, may exempt donors, provider
367 agencies, homeless facilities, and any other program
368 for the homeless under part XVII of chapter 346 from
369 real property taxes, water and sewer development fees,
370 rates collected for water supplied to consumers and
371 for use of sewers, and any other county taxes,
372 charges, or fees; provided that any county may enact
373 ordinances to regulate and grant the exemptions
374 granted by this paragraph;
375 (26) Any county may establish a captive insurance company
376 pursuant to article 19, chapter 431 ; and
377 (27) Each county shall have the power to enact and enforce
378 ordinances regulating towing operations .
379 (28) Each county may, in collaboration with the State' s
380 department of business, economic development and
381 tourism, initiate a program for high-stakes
382 bingo, whereby the counties may individually conduct
383 high-stakes bingo games, with prizes not to exceed
384 $10, 000 and the county' s net profits to be split
385 with the state on a 50/50 basis .
386
387 SECTION 3 . New statutory material is underscored.
388
389 SECTION 4 . This Act shall take effect upon its approval .
390
391 INTRODUCED BY:
392
393