Squabbles Ahead.
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Sen. Donna Mercado Kim said the last-minute proposal is legally questionable because it was never debated in a public hearing, and did not comply with the lawmaking process that is set out in the Hawaii State Constitution.
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“The industry had no input, nobody had any input on this, so at this hour to come out with an increase in the (hotel room tax) that was never discussed, never went to a public hearing, to me is not legal,” said Kim, (D, Kalihi Valley-Moanalua-Halawa).
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She said the bill will be vulnerable to a legal challenge if it passes because “the law
says it has to have three readings, and it didn’t go through three readings.”