Bill Text: HI HR53 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Study; Single Stand-Alone Casino; Waikiki

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-03-09 - (H) Referred to ERB/TOU, FIN, referral sheet 42 [HR53 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2012-HR53-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	53
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting a study of the social impacts of a single stand-alone casino in waikiki.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, the issue of legalized gambling in Hawaii has been studied and considered at least three times since statehood including in 1962, 1994, and 1997; and

 

     WHEREAS, there have been over one hundred fifty proposals in support of legalized gambling submitted to the Legislature within the past nearly three decades, including land-based casinos, shipboard casinos, pari-mutuel wagering facilities, and the lottery; and

 

     WHEREAS, since the economic downturn, the Legislature has proposed such legislation annually to generate revenue to maintain essential government services; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State has also been exploring the development of new visitor attractions and niche markets to improve the growth of the visitor industry and increase Hawaii's competitiveness; and

 

     WHEREAS, there are more than seventy countries with legalized gambling; and

 

     WHEREAS, there are only two states that prohibit all types of gambling, of which Hawaii is one; and

 

     WHEREAS, a single stand-alone casino in Waikiki has been identified as a form of gambling that may be considered; and

 

     WHEREAS, those opposed to legalized gambling argue that all forms of gaming are "immoral" and will lead to an increase in crime, addiction, and the breakdown of families and communities; and
     WHEREAS, the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism prepared a report to the Nineteenth Legislature in response to Senate Resolution No. 282, S.D. 1, H.D. 2, Regular Session of 1996, noting that gaming will likely produce relatively modest economic and fiscal benefits, but that it is necessary to study further the larger, uncertain social costs of crime and pathological gambling to the host community in conjunction with economic and fiscal gains; and

 

     WHEREAS, to make a fully informed decision about a single stand-alone casino in Waikiki, the Legislature needs comprehensive and objective information about the social impact of these forms of legalized gambling in Hawaii; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2012, that the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism is requested to conduct a study on the social impacts of a single stand-alone casino in Waikiki; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Tourism Authority, the Honolulu Police Department, the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, and the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau are requested to cooperate with the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism by providing access to information and assistance in facilitating surveys that may be deemed necessary; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2013; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; the Director of Commerce and Consumer
Affairs; the Director of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau; and the Chief of Police of the Honolulu Police Department.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Study; Single Stand-Alone Casino; Waikiki