Budget & Taxes

Requires counties to waive permitting fees for certain film activity. Exempts entertainment payroll companies from the GET. Repeals an income tax exemption for persons engaged in the business of motion picture and television film production for taxable years beginning after 12/31/2023. Amends the Motion Picture, Digital Media, and Film Production Income Tax Credit by providing an additional credit to qualified productions with a workforce of at least eighty percent local hires; requiring productions to contact all local labor unions servicing Hawaii's film industry to qualify for the credit; requiring qualified production costs of a taxpayer that exceed $1,000,000 to be certified by a CPA, rather than via tax opinion; increasing the aggregate cap amount on credits allowed in any given year, ramped down by one-sixth over five years beginning on 1/1/2028; and including broadcast and streaming platform productions under the credit. Applies the GET rate for manufacturers to productions. Exempts from the GET amounts received by a motion picture project employer from a client equal to amounts that are disbursed by the motion picture project employer for employee wages, salaries, payroll taxes, insurance premiums, and employment benefits and payments to loan-out companies. Repeals certain tax exemptions and the Motion Picture, Digital Media, and Film Production Income Tax Credit on 1/1/2033. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD2)

Provides appropriations for collective bargaining cost items for the members of bargaining unit (11) and their excluded counterparts, including the cost of salary adjustments negotiated between the State and the bargaining unit representative for fiscal biennium 2025-2027. Declares the expenditure ceiling for fiscal year 2025-2026 is exceeded. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

For taxable years beginning after 12/31/2024, requires all qualified members claiming a credit for pass-through entity taxation to adjust their income to include the qualified member's share of taxes paid by an electing pass-through entity. Effective July 1, 3000. (HD1)

Requires all state and county agencies to utilize applicable federal clean energy tax credits, pursuant to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, for the purchase and financing of capital improvement projects that use clean energy technology and zero-emission vehicles. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Appropriates funds to be used by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands for mercantile projects, as well as lump sum repair and maintenance, in fiscal year 2025-2026. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD1)

Establishes a Carbon Sequestration, Underground Water, and Geothermal Exploration Resource Characterization Program via slim hole bores and requires a related statewide environmental assessment. Requires a report to the Legislature. Establishes positions. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (SD2)

Requires the Auditor to conduct a financial audit of each charter school under the State Public Charter School Commission. Requires a report to the Legislature. Requires the State Public Charter School Commission to take action based on the Auditor's recommendations. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Requires the Department of Education to establish a student bus fare rate system that includes free school bus passes for students who meet certain statutory requirements. Requires reports to the Legislature. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/31/2055. (SD1)

HB 1896 appropriates state funds to the Department of Education to support community schools. It directly affects community schools by providing dedicated funding for their operations and programs. The bill’s key mechanism is a financial appropriation, directing specific resources to the Department of Education for this purpose, without altering existing school policies or creating new requirements.

Authorizes governmental bodies and public employees to procure project management services through non-governmental third-party contracts under certain conditions. Appropriates funds to establish a Special Project Branch within the Public Works Division of the Department of Accounting and General Services. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)