Hawaii-2020-HB460-Amended

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the proliferation of "short-term rentals", which are generally transient accommodations other than hotels and motels, has adversely impacted the State. Short-term rentals pose health and safety risks to local residents and guests, reduce the availability of permanent housing, drive up rents, and adversely alter the character and quality of residential neighborhoods.

The proliferation of illegal short-term rentals has been particularly difficult to control and regulate because owners and operators are able to attract and transact business through online hosting platforms.

The purpose of this Act is to provide better regulation and accountability of short-term rentals by:

(1) Clarifying the authority of counties to regulate hosting platforms;

(2) Authorizing the counties to establish a registry of lawfully authorized or permitted short-term rentals for public inspection and accountability;

(3) Authorizing the counties to require short-term rental operators or owners to list the complete physical address, including unit number if applicable, short-term rental registration or certificate or permit number, and tax map key of the short-term rental property in any posting or advertisement on a hosting platform;

(4) Authorizing the counties to prohibit hosting platforms from completing any booking transaction for a short-term rental unless it is listed on a county's registry at the time the hosting platform receives a fee for the booking transaction;

(5) Authorizing the counties to prohibit hosting platforms from collecting or receiving a fee, directly or indirectly through an agent or intermediary, for facilitating or providing services ancillary to a short-term rental;

(6) Authorizing the counties to subpoena records from hosting platforms to seek out illegally operating short-term rentals; and

(7) Requiring all persons arriving into a county to submit and confirm the complete physical address of their place of stay, including unit number if applicable, which shall be provided to the counties for the purposes of validating legally and illegally operating short-term rentals and enforcing the provisions of this Act and any ordinance regulating short-term rentals.

This Act is not intended to preempt or otherwise limit the authority of counties to adopt, monitor, and enforce local land use regulations. Further, this Act is not intended to transfer the authority to monitor and enforce those regulations away from the counties.

SECTION 2. The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Chapter

SHORT-TERM RENTALS

§ -1 Definitions. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:

"Aircaft" shall have the same meaning as defined in section 261-1.

"Booking service" means any reservation or payment service provided by a person or entity that facilitates a short-term rental transaction between an operator and a prospective renter or occupant, for which the person or entity collects or receives, directly or indirectly through an agent, entity, or intermediary, a fee, compensation, or consideration in connection with the reservation or payment services provided for the short-term rental transaction.

"Hosting platform" means a person or entity that provides, and collects or receives a fee or other compensation or consideration for, booking services through which an operator may offer a short-term rental. Hosting platforms may, but do not necessarily, provide booking services through an online platform that allows an owner or operator to advertise the short-term rental through a website provided by the hosting platform and the hosting platform conducts a transaction by which potential renters arrange use and payment, whether the renter pays rent directly to the operator or to the hosting platform.

"Place of stay" means a place in which someone lives or stays for at least one overnight period.

"Short-term rental" means "transient accommodations unit", "transient vacation rental", "transient vacation use", or any similar term that may be defined by county ordinance to mean a single family dwelling, dwelling unit, unit, room, apartment, house, condominium, beach house, suite, living quarters, or similar living accommodation rented to or occupied by a transient person for fewer than thirty consecutive days, or a period as established by county ordinance, for compensation.

"Transient person" means a person who occupies a short-term rental for fewer than thirty consecutive days, or a period as established by county ordinance, for compensation, consideration, or a fee. "Transient person" does not include short-term workers under contract whose accommodations are provided as part of their compensation.

"Vessel" shall have the same meaning as defined in section 200-23.

§ -2 Authority to regulate hosting platforms. Each county shall have the authority to regulate hosting platforms and other operations providing booking services for short-term rentals in their respective county.

§ -3 Authority to require property information listing. Each county shall have the authority to require short-term rental operators or owners to list the complete physical address, including unit number if applicable; short-term rental permit, registration, or certificate number; and tax map key of the short-term rental property in any posting or advertisement on a hosting platform.

§ -4 Short-term rental registries. Each county may create a registry of short-term rentals that the county has authorized, certified, or permitted to operate. Each registry shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:

(1) The county permit, registration, or certificate number;

(2) The physical address and unit number, if applicable, of the short-term rental;

(3) The tax map key of the short-term rental; and

(4) Any county restrictions or conditions placed upon the short-term rental, such as restrictions or conditions regarding occupancy and parking, and permit, registration, or certification expiration date.

Each county may post online and regularly update the registry.

§ -5 Hosting platform prohibitions. (a) Each county may prohibit hosting platforms from completing any booking service or accepting any reservation for a short-term rental if it is not listed on a county's registry created under section -4 at the time the hosting platform receives a fee for the booking transaction or accepts the reservation.

(b) Each county may prohibit hosting platforms from collecting or receiving a fee or other compensation or consideration, directly or indirectly through an agent or intermediary, for facilitating or providing services ancillary to a short-term rental, including but not limited to insurance, concierge services, catering, restaurant bookings, tours, guide services, entertainment, cleaning, property management, or maintenance of the short-term rental property or unit.

(c) Each county may provide that a hosting platform shall be presumed to be in compliance with the provisions of this section if it operates in compliance with subsections (a) and (b) and section -4; provided that the hosting platform shall remain responsible for compliance with the subpoena provisions of section -6.

§ -6 Subpoenas. Each county may issue and serve subpoenas as necessary to obtain specific information regarding short-term rental listings for properties located in the county, including, but not limited to, the names of the persons responsible for each listing, the complete physical address, including unit number if applicable, of each listing, the length of stay for each listing, and the price paid for each stay to determine whether the short-term rental listings comply with this chapter or any other county short-term rental ordinance. Any subpoena issued pursuant to this section shall not require the production of information sooner than thirty days from the date of service. A person or entity that has been served with a subpoena may seek judicial review only during that thirty-day period.

§ -7 Noncompliance. Each county may prohibit any person from undertaking, maintaining, authorizing, aiding, facilitating, or advertising any short-term rental that does not comply with the requirements of this chapter or any county short-term rental ordinance. For the purposes of this section only, "person" does not include a hosting platform.

§ -8 Place of stay declaration upon arrival. (a) It shall be the responsibility of all persons that operate any aircraft or vessel providing travel to persons into a county to distribute, require completion of, and collect, prior to the debarkation of passengers and baggage, the county place of stay declaration form to each passenger, officer, and crew member of any aircraft or vessel in order that the passenger, officer, and crew member may comply with the directions and requirements appearing thereon.

The place of stay declaration form shall include, but not be limited to, the request for submission of the place of stay address and the term of the stay. The place of stay declaration form may be adopted or prescribed by each county.

All passengers, officers, and crew members, whether residents of the State or not, shall complete the declaration; provided that one adult member of a family or household may complete the declaration for other household members staying in the same location and unit. Any person who defaces the declaration form required under this section, gives false information, or fails to declare the person's place of stay is in violation of this section.

(b) Completed forms shall be collected by the person operating the aircraft or vessel and be delivered, immediately upon arrival, to the county of arrival at the first airport or seaport of arrival. Failure to distribute, require completion of, or collect declaration forms or to immediately deliver completed forms is a violation of this section.

(c) Each county shall have the authority to require the host, owner, or operator of the identified place of stay to verify the occupancy of the declarant.

(d) Each county may use the place of stay information and the host, owner, or operator verification to determine compliance with this chapter and any ordinances regulating short-term rentals.

§ -9 County authority. Each county may implement and enforce this chapter and may further adopt ordinances, rules, fines, and penalties to implement and enforce the provisions of this chapter.

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to preempt or prohibit the authority of any county or political subdivision of the State to further adopt, monitor, and enforce local land use ordinances, rules, and regulations, nor to transfer the authority to monitor and enforce these ordinances, rules, or regulations away from the counties."

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	460
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		S.D. 1
		PROPOSED