Determines that DEP rules and regulations to implement "Advanced Clean Trucks" program are inconsistent with legislative intent.

2024-2025 Regular Session Introduced by Carmen Amato and 1 co-sponsor

Hawaii would convene a multi‑stakeholder Tourism and Gaming Working Group to study the costs, benefits, policy options, and regulatory needs of legalizing or expanding gaming.

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Environment and Energy Committee

#environment

Summary — SCR 121 (2025): Requesting DBEDT to Convene a Tourism and Gaming Working Group

Status
- Concurrent resolution adopted by the 33rd Hawaii Legislature in 2025. Final adoption occurred April 25, 2025. Primary sponsor recorded as Sen. DeCoite. (Resolution is a study/organizing measure, not a law.)

Purpose / Intent
- To instruct the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT) to convene a multi‑stakeholder Tourism and Gaming Working Group to evaluate the costs, benefits, policy options, and implementation issues associated with legalized gaming in Hawaii — particularly as it relates to tourism, economic growth, and the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District.

Key duties and scope of the working group
- Review prior and existing gaming legislation considered by the Hawaii Legislature and comparable laws in other states to identify proposals potentially implementable in Hawaii.
- Develop a comprehensive tourism gaming policy framework addressing: economic growth, job creation, capital investment, state tax revenue potential, and administrative/regulatory/enforcement costs.
- Examine specific locations and modalities for gaming, including the New Aloha Stadium Entertainment District (and, in some drafts, onboard vessels operating within the exclusive economic zone).
- Assess social and public‑health implications and the costs of prevention, counseling and treatment programs for problem gambling, plus how gaming might support DBEDT and the Hawaii Tourism Authority missions.

Membership (selected)
- Co‑chairs: Chairs of the Senate and House standing committees with primary jurisdiction over economic development (or their designees).
- Legislative leaders: President of the Senate and Speaker of the House (or designees).
- State officials or designees: DBEDT, Attorney General, Department of Law Enforcement, Department of Taxation, Department of Health, Department of Human Services, and the University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization (or their designees).
- Invited stakeholders: representatives with expertise in labor; Native Hawaiian culture; social services/behavioral addictions; academic/research expertise in global tourism, sports, and entertainment; private gaming companies (final versions name Boyd Gaming, DraftKings, BetMGM); Aloha Hālawa District Partners LLC; and other interested parties.

Deliverables, support, and timeline
- DBEDT is asked to provide administrative support.
- The working group must submit a report of findings and recommendations (including any proposed legislation) to the Legislature no later than 20 days before the convening of the 2027 Regular Session.
- DBEDT is requested to dissolve the working group on June 30, 2028.

Potential impact
- The resolution establishes an organized, stakeholder‑driven fact‑finding and policy development process to inform legislative decisions about whether and how to legalize or expand gaming in Hawaii. The study is intended to quantify potential economic and tax benefits, identify regulatory and enforcement needs, and analyze social costs and mitigation strategies — but it does not itself legalize gaming.