SR 46 Hawaii Senate · 2025 Regular Session

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND TOURISM TO REVIEW AND EVALUATE THE COST-BENEFIT AND RETURN ON INVESTMENT OF A POSSIBLE SPONSORSHIP OF A MICHELIN GUIDE FOR RESTAURANTS ACROSS THE STATE.

This non-binding Senate Resolution (SR 46) requests Hawaii's Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to evaluate the potential cost-benefit of sponsoring a Michelin Guide for the state's restaurants. It aims to assess whether such a sponsorship could boost culinary tourism, attract skilled workforce talent (as noted in a 2022 tourism report), and elevate restaurant standards. The resolution does not mandate sponsorship but asks the department to review feasibility and return on investment. It directly affects Hawaii's restaurant industry and tourism promotion efforts, though no concrete policy change is enacted by the resolution itself.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

House Passage

Governor

Introduced Mar 7, 2025 Last action Apr 2, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SR46 → SR46_SD1 · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill was modified from a simple request to sponsor a Michelin Guide into a request for the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to first review and evaluate the cost-benefit and return on investment of such sponsorship. This adds a preliminary analysis requirement before any sponsorship action can be taken, ensuring fiscal responsibility before committing state resources.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed by adding a prerequisite evaluation step; the department must assess the financial implications before proceeding with any Michelin Guide sponsorship.

REQUIREMENT

The resolution now requires the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to review and evaluate the cost-benefit and return on investment of a Michelin Guide sponsorship before taking action, rather than directly requesting sponsorship.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate. No roll call record of that vote is available.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 2, 2025

Upper · Passed

Report and Resolution Adopted as amended (SD1). Aye(s) with reservations: none. Noes, 1 (Senator(s) Awa).

upper

Apr 1, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported from EDT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1451) with recommendation of adoption, as amended (SD 1).

upper

Mar 25, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDT recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in EDT were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) DeCoite, Wakai, Fukunaga; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Kim, Awa.

upper

Mar 21, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on EDT has scheduled a public hearing on 03-25-25 1:00PM; Conference Room 229 & Videoconference.

upper

Mar 11, 2025

Committee

Referred to EDT.

upper

Mar 7, 2025

Introduced

Offered.

upper

5 primary · 2 co-sponsors