Hawaiʻi has officially become the first U.S. state to enact a so-called “green fee” — a charge added onto hotel room stays and other short-term visits to help protect the local environment and address the growing impacts of climate change.

Gov. Josh Green signed the fee into law Tuesday after years of unsuccessfully urging the Legislature to pass it. Set to take effect next year, the fee could raise around $100 million annually, state officials estimate, a portion of which will go toward Hawaiʻi’s response to future disasters similar to the 2023 Lahaina wildfire.

“Hawaiʻi’s doing what other states and other nations are going to have to do … there will be no way to deal with these crises without some forward-thinking mechanism,” Green said moments before signing the bill.

“I hope that the world is watching,” he added, “because having something that is a balance between industry and environment is going to be the way to go forward to protect your people, to protect your states, to protect your economy.”

Specifically, the revenue will come from a .75% increase on the tax Hawaiʻi visitors pay on their nightly hotel and short-term stays. The uptick raises the state’s transient accommodations tax, or TAT, to 11%. Visitors already pay an additional 3% TAT on their stays to the counties.

That will translate to visitors paying about $3 extra, Green said, on a $400 room stay.

Overall, the move aims to make Hawaiʻi’s reefs, beaches, trails, mountains and other unique yet vulnerable environments more resilient to heavier storms, more severe droughts and other challenges linked to the changing climate.

It also seeks to avoid making locals pay the entire price of that damage. Green and other supporters say the fee on hotel stays, cruise ship cabins and short-term rentals is justified because of the link between the nearly 10 million visitors who fly to Hawaiʻi each year and the island state’s climate change and environmental issues.

The fee proposal has previously gotten plenty of pushback from some local short-term rental owners and the hotel industry, who worry visitors will choose to go elsewhere if fees on their Hawaiʻi stays climb too high.

On Tuesday, however, key members of the local hotel industry attended the bill’s signing ceremony in a strong show of support. While they’re still worried about a drop in visits, they said the need to restore Hawaiʻi’s eroding beaches and remove invasive species has grown more urgent to keep those visitors coming.

“We need the money to restore those beaches, to reconstruct them, to take care of invasive plants that are around our hotels and around residences,” Hawaiʻi Hotel Alliance President Jerry Gibson said. “So we went from one end of the spectrum, you know, almost to the other.”

After extended talks with Green, Outrigger Hotels and Resorts President Jeff Wagoner said local industry leaders felt assured enough that the tax charged to their visitors would go to those projects.

Now Comes The Heavy Lifting

While state leaders and conservation groups have general ideas about where to deploy the green fee, exactly how the money will be spent — and which local groups and agencies it will benefit — hasn’t been set.

Green said Tuesday a process to review and select projects should start in the fall ahead of the first fee collections in January.

The Legislature will also have a say in where the money goes. That’s because in an unusual move the fee will be routed to the state’s general fund instead of a special fund. Green downplayed concerns Tuesday that the arrangement could lead some green fee dollars to be spent on other purposes.

“We will actually sit around together and come up with a list of what to spend,” he said. State agency heads and the state’s new fire marshall will have a say, he added, in where the dollars go.

The need for a dedicated source of climate and conservation revenue has received strong support from numerous local conservation organizations.

A coalition of those groups, Care For ʻĀina Now, presented a study earlier this year showing an annual conservation funding gap of at least $560 million for Hawaiʻi. That gap could be as large as $1.69 billion based on the worst-case scenario, according to the study.

Some of the annual green fee collections, Green has said, can further be leveraged to float bonds that might cover larger and more expensive projects in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

A New Strategy

After the fee proposal failed to pass last year, Green assembled a “Climate Advisory Team” in part to lobby lawmakers to get it approved.

That team, called the “CAT” for short, interviewed more than 60 individuals from state and county agencies, nonprofits, businesses, and industries to better understand Hawaiʻi’s vulnerabilities to storms and other climate-related events, said Chris Benjamin, the group’s chair.

“Our goal was not about slowing climate change — even though that’s a very important goal,” Benjamin said Tuesday. “Our goal was to try to acknowledge that Hawaiʻi is vulnerable and try to find ways to make us less vulnerable.”

Prior ideas for collecting the green fee included charging visitors an arrival fee when they land at the airport or charging them a park-usage fee they could pay through their cell phones. However, lawmakers questioned how those proposals would work and be enforced, and opponents questioned whether they were even legal.

Other prior proposals included using interest generated from the state’s rainy-day fund or collecting a one-time fee for visitors to access scenic hikes, visit popular beaches, check into hotels, rent cars or participate in other tourism-related activities.

This year, the Legislature found that increasing the TAT would be the simplest way to go — and that approach managed to make Hawaiʻi the first state in the nation to approve a green fee. It emulates similar green fees passed on the national level by Palau, New Zealand and other visitor-popular destinations.

Civil Beat’s coverage of climate change is supported by The Healy Foundation, Marisla Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation and the Frost Family Foundation.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story included an incorrect figure for the new total TAT.

Gov. Josh Green, M.D., signed historic climate impact legislation into law on Tuesday. Act 96 (Senate Bill 1396) is a first-in-the-nation initiative that establishes a climate impact fee, or “Green Fee,” creating a stable source of funding for environmental stewardship, hazard mitigation and sustainable tourism in Hawaiʻi.

The Green Fee is projected to generate $100 million annually, and the Green Administration will work with the legislature to confirm projects next session as revenue becomes available.

“Today Hawaiʻi ushers in the first Green Fee in the nation. Once again, Hawaiʻi is at the forefront of protecting our natural resources, recognizing their fundamental role in sustaining the ecological, cultural and economic health of Hawaiʻi. As an island chain, Hawaiʻi cannot wait for the next disaster to hit before taking action. We must build resiliency now, and the Green Fee will provide the necessary financing to ensure resources are available for our future.”

Following the devastating Maui wildfires and in response to the growing frequency and intensity of natural disasters across Hawai‘i and the nation, Gov. Green established the Climate Advisory Team (CAT) in 2024, led by Chris Benjamin and comprised of a team of leaders, to develop community-informed policy recommendations. A key recommendation of the CAT was to establish a dedicated source of funding for climate change mitigation and disaster resilience. The CAT recommended the transient accommodations tax (TAT) as a potential revenue source.

“The Green Fee bill marks a historic investment in climate disaster resilience and environmental protection,” said Benjamin. “Using the TAT to fund resiliency projects ensures that the financial burden of safeguarding our ʻāina and people doesn’t fall upon residents alone. We thank the Legislature, industry and countless community groups and individuals who advocated tirelessly for this bill.”

Senate Bill 1396 increases the TAT rate by 0.75% beginning in 2026 and levies, for the first time, the TAT on cruise ships that port in the state.

Assessing the TAT on cruise ships — a sector of transient accommodations that has long gone untaxed under the TAT — promotes equity across the tourism industry, ensuring that all visitors to Hawai‘i contribute to the islands’ long-term resilience and well-being.

“While fees may not be the most popular method of revenue generation, stakeholder dialogue has affirmed that visitors are willing to pay a climate impact fee in order to support Hawaiʻi’s environmental protection efforts and preserve the beauty and cultural heritage of the islands for future generations. The Green Fee ensures that visitors share in the kuleana of environmental stewardship and sustainable tourism,” according to a news release from the Governor’s Office.

“I mahalo the tourism industry for stepping up and collaborating on this initiative, which will preserve Hawaiʻi for kamaʻāina and visitors alike,” said Green. “The fee will restore and remediate our beaches and shorelines and harden infrastructure critical to the health and safety of all who call Hawaiʻi home, whether for a few days or a lifetime.

Sen. Lynn DeCoite (District 24 – Hāna, East and Upcountry Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe and Molokini) said the bill is a matter of common sense and responsibility. “I think it’s really about our kuleana, to the state, to the people of Hawaiʻi. Climate change is here and has been a super-huge challenge for all of us. As the chair of the Economic Development and Tourism (EDT) Committee, the impacts are real. The bill shares the responsibility of caring for our home with those who come to visit, to ensure that our natural resources are cared for, for future generations.”

Rep. Adrian Tam (District 24 – Waikīkī) thanked the stakeholders representing a very diverse coalition of individuals, from the visitor industry to the environmental stewardship advocates. “The funds raised by this bill will go toward much-needed environmental stewardship as well as erosion mitigation and restoration projects, so it is really a win-win for all of us. The signing of this bill will ensure that the investments in resilience and taking preventive measures will protect Hawaiʻi’s environment and our economy, and it will soon save taxpayer dollars in the long run.”

The world premiere of Disney’s live-action “Lilo & Stitch” took place Saturday at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California. The event celebrated the film’s debut and showcased Hawaiian culture, courtesy of the Hawai’i Visitors and Convention Bureau (HVCB).

The premiere featured numerous stars from the film, including Chris Sanders, Billy Magnussen, Zach Galifianakis, Maia Kealoha, Sydney Agudong, Courtney B. Vance, Kaipo Dudoit, and Amy Hill. Several dignitaries and cultural figures, such as State Rep. Shirley Ann Templo, State Sen.Lynn DeCoite, and Miss Aloha Hula 2025, Jaedyn Pavao, attended the event.

Maia Kealoha, who starred as Lilo, and Sydney Agudong, who played Lilo’s older sister Nani, were among the Hawaiian talents featured in this adaptation. Tia Carrere, who voiced Nani in the original animated film, took on the role of Mrs.

Kekoa, a new character. The depiction of Hawaiian culture was further enriched with traditional Hawaiian protocols led by kumu hula Lilinoe Kaio, with performances from Halau ‘o Lilinoe and Na Pua Me Kealoha. Aaron J. Sala, President and CEO of HVCB, underscored the importance of the event.

Celebrating Disney’s Hawaiian heritage

“This premiere wasn’t just a celebration of a film — it was an opportunity to elevate the people, culture, and stories that define our Hawaii,” Sala stated.

The collaboration with Disney marks HVCB’s commitment to diversifying its promotional efforts beyond conventional tourism marketing. HVCB is in the midst of significant organizational changes. Under Sala’s leadership since September, the bureau has been diversifying its portfolio in response to dwindling funding from the Hawai’i Tourism Authority (HTA).

The new direction aligns with a broader strategic plan to reduce reliance on HTA contracts and engage in partnerships that responsibly promote Hawaiian culture and tourism, the presence of lawmakers like Sen. Lynn DeCoite and Rep.

Shirley Ann Templo at the premiere highlighted the state’s stance on using cinema and media to boost tourism. This diversification aims to ensure a sustainable future for Hawaii’s tourism industry while respecting and promoting local culture. Hawaiian Airlines also contributed to the event by offering guests leis and photo opportunities.

The airline’s new “Searching for Stitch” augmented reality experience aims to educate users about mindful travel across the Hawaiian Islands. Jerry Gibson, President of the Hawai’i Hotel Alliance, and Keith Vieira, principal of KV & Associates, expressed optimism about HVCB’s new strategic direction. They believe this initiative will help sustain Hawaii’s tourism industry amid changing economic and political landscapes.

As “Lilo & Stitch” opens nationwide, the film serves as both an entertainment piece and a cultural bridge, inviting audiences worldwide to engage more thoughtfully with Hawaii’s rich heritage.