HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 2017-44COUNTY COUNCIL
COUNTY OF KAUA’I
3&c~o1ution No.2017-44
RESOLUTION EXPRESSING SUPPORT FROM THE COUNTY OF KAUA’I
FOR THE STATE LEGISLATURE’S APPROVAL OF AN EXTENSION OF
THE GENERAL EXCISE AND USE TAX SURCHARGE FOR THE CITY AND
COUNTY OF HONOLULU WHICH IS NECESSARY TO ENABLE THE
COMPLETION OF THE MINIMUM OPERABLE SEGMENT
(EAST KAPOLEI TO ALA MOANA CENTER)OF
THE HONOLULU HIGH-CAPACITY TRANSIT CORRIDOR PROJECT
WHEREAS,recent revenue and expenditure projections for the Minimum
Operable Segment (MOS)(from East Kapolei to Ala Moana Center)of the Honolulu
High-Capacity Transit Corridor Project (Rail Project)indicate that an additional
$2.847 billion in revenue will be needed for the City and County of Honolulu (City)to
complete the MOS of the Rail Project;and
WHEREAS,Section 2 of Act 247,Session Laws of Hawai’i,Regular Session
of 2005,codified as Hawai’i Revised Statutes (HRS)Section 46-16.8,authorized the
Honolulu City Council to establish a one-half percent Honolulu general excise and
use tax surcharge (GET surcharge)to fund the operating and capital costs of the
locally preferred alternative (LPA)for the Rail Project and related improvements to
comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA);and
WHEREAS,the LPA would connect West Kapolei,through downtown
Honolulu and the Ala Moana Center,with the University of Hawai’i at Mãnoa;and
WHEREAS,pursuant to Act 247,the Honolulu City Council enacted
Ordinance No.05-07,approving the GET surcharge,which was effective beginning
on January 1,2007,and was to be repealed on December 31,2022;and
WHEREAS,the MOS,as established by Resolution No.08-261,calls for a 21-
mile alignment connecting East Kapolei with the Ala Moana Center,with a total of
20 transit stations;and
WHEREAS,in the Final Financial Plan for the Full Funding Grant Agreement
between the City and the Federal Transit Administration,dated June 2012,the
estimated cost for the Rail Project was $5.163 billion;and
WHEREAS,among other things.Section 3 ofAct 240,Session Laws of Hawai’i,
Regular Session of 2015,amended HRS Section 46-16.8 to provide for a five-year
extension of the GET surcharge by the City and County of Honolulu beyond
December 31,2022,to December 31,2027;and
WHEREAS,on October 15,2015,the Honolulu Authority for Rapid
Transportation (HART),the agency charged with construction of the Rail Project,
projected that the cost for the Rail Project would be $6.178 billion;and
WHEREAS,the Honolulu City Council thereafter enacted Ordinance No.16-1
which,among other things,implemented the legislatively authorized five-year
extension of the GET surcharge to December 31,2027;and
WHEREAS,recent discussions with officials of the Federal Transit
Administration have indicated that the City must complete construction of the MOS
as agreed in the Full Funding Grant Agreement or it may be required to repay the
federal government for its financial contributions to the project to date;and
WHEREAS,on November 16,2016,the Honolulu City Council passed
Resolution No.16-248,CD1,reaffirming the Honolulu City Council’s support of
extending the GET surcharge in order to complete the MOS of the Rail Project to Ala
Moana Center;and
WHEREAS,on December 1,2016,HART submitted the Draft Update of the
Financial Plan for the Full Funding Grant Agreement which stated that the
estimated cost,with additional funding for financing,required to complete the MOS
for the Rail Project is approximately $9.5 billion,which would result in a shortfall
of $2,847 billion;and
WHEREAS,during the 2017 regular Legislative Session,the Hawai’i State
Legislature considered Senate Bill 1183 and various drafts thereof,in which the
House and Senate considered a number of funding sources to assist the City to
complete the MOS,including a further extension of the GET surcharge;and
WHEREAS,the GET surcharge is a comparatively stable funding source that
is imposed only on business operations in the City,and will allow HART to engage in
long-term planning for the Rail Project;now,therefore
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF KAUA’I:
1.That it supports the Hawai’i State Legislature’s approval of an extension of
the Honolulu General Excise and Use Tax Surcharge as necessary to enable
the completion of the Minimum Operable Segment of the Honolulu
High-Capacity Transit Project to Ala Moana Center;and
2.That copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Executive Director and
Chair of the Board of Directors of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid
Transportation,the Governor,the President of the State Senate,the
Speaker of the State House of Representatives,the Chair of the State
Senate Ways and Means Committee,the Chair of the State House of
Representatives Finance Committee,the Chair of the State Senate
Transportation and Energy Committee,the Chair of the State Senate
Public Safety,Intergovernmental,and Military Affairs Committee,and the
Chair of the State House of Representatives Transportation Committee.
Introduced by:
DEREK S.K.KAWAKAMI
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