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A bill establishing the Marine Management Special Fund was passed in 2021 and came into effect on January 1.
All operators of commercial vessels, personal watercraft, or watersports equipment that require a commercial operator’s permit are now required to charge a $1 fee toward the fund from each customer.
The bill, introduced by Oahu Rep. Scott Psaki and signed into law by former Governor David Ige, would protect coral reefs from recently documented bleaching, vessel groundings, anchorages and moorings, diving activities, poaching, and landings. enumerates a wide range of influences on Emissions of base and water-based pollutants – therefore, it was necessary to create a new fund.
This funding allows the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to develop and implement marine resource protection, restoration, enhancement, research, regulatory actions, enforcement actions, educational activities, or other management actions necessary to protect marine resources. used to. State Jurisdiction.
The funding will also be used to install, maintain and replace day mooring buoys and other infrastructure to reduce impacts on marine ecosystems.
The law provides for 20% of revenues collected from operations, plus state funding from leases of land, facilities, equipment, and other property managed by DLNR and used or dedicated to aquatic life management, research, restoration, and enhancement. stipulates that the funds paid to the Resources — Shall be paid to the Hawaii Office as ceded land revenue.
Commercial operators must make monthly payments into a special fund.
Manu Powers owns and operates Sea Quest Hawaii, offering snorkel and manta ray tours from Keauhou Bay. She believes this is another hurdle small business owners have to overcome.
“There are a lot of questions about why it was put in place. How do counties and states continue to green light development and yet put in place all these policies that shrink small businesses? “Small businesses are the backbone of every community, and we consistently implement policies and procedures that make it more cumbersome and difficult for us to generate revenue,” she said.
Powers said the additional fees would add red tape.
“We have to hire someone because we’re too busy running the business and don’t have time. We end up paying for that in a variety of ways,” she said.
She also questioned what exactly the money would be used for.
“We are always willing to pay our taxes, pay our fees and play by the rules, but the state and counties need to do their part to make sure the money goes back into the industry to make it fair.” Yes, we need to provide some kind of guidelines, and support those who are trying to play by the rules, even though they are incredibly onerous, awful, and unreasonable,” she said. said.
Powers said both federal and private agencies are working on ocean sustainability and would like to see more specifics about what the money will be used for.
“We would be happy to do all of this if we could see how this money would be reinvested into the sustainability of the industry and specifically how it would be reinvested,” she said.
She worries that all the fees, including temporary lodging taxes, excise taxes and user fees that need to be passed on to people visiting the state, will drive companies’ prices out of the market. .
“I wish a more sustainable, regenerative tourism model had been established, but we’re not there yet. By the time we get there, people won’t be able to afford to live here and all this You’re going to throw in the towel because you can’t afford to pay for it,” she said. It imposes a price on all of us in different ways and different means. ”
This law is scheduled to repeal on January 1, 2029.
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