Bill Text: HI HR77 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The Department Of Business, Economic Development, And Tourism To Study The Feasibility Of Creating An Independent County On The Island Of Molokai.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-18 - Re-referred to EDB, JUD, FIN, referral sheet 36 [HR77 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2019-HR77-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	77
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

Requesting the department of business, economic DEVELOPMENT, and tourism to study the feasibility of creating an independent county on the island of molokai.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii comprises four major counties: the Counties of Maui, Kauai, Hawaii, and the City and County of Honolulu; and

 

     WHEREAS, each county represents a distinctive and unique island, with its own culture, history, charm, and needs; and

 

     WHEREAS, the island of Molokai also has its own culture, history, and people, that are unlike those of any of its neighbor islands; and

 

     WHEREAS, Molokai has a long history of subsistence agriculture, particularly the cultivation of taro and fishponds; and

 

     WHEREAS, residents of Molokai have expressed a desire to protect and preserve the subsistence lifestyle, while also establishing a more diversified, resilient, and service-based economy; and

 

     WHEREAS, it is only because of its relatively small population that the island of Molokai falls under the jurisdiction of the County of Maui; and

 

     WHEREAS, the location of council meetings on the island of Maui makes it difficult for Molokai residents to attend and participate, since travel options between the islands of Molokai and Maui are limited; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 1998, the Maui County Council conducted a feasibility study that indicated that a substantial increase of 3,000 percent in property taxes would occur if Molokai was to become its own county; and

 

     WHEREAS, the uniqueness of Molokai's history, culture, and economic needs warrants the creation of an independent county; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, that the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism is requested to study the feasibility of creating an independent county on the island of Molokai; 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, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2020; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

DBEDT; Molokai; Feasibility Study