Hawaii hotels will be the first to use a bill like this one to tackle climate change

Get the Full StoryThe bill, which is expected to pass, would add an additional 0.75 tax to the daily room rate effective Jan. 1.

In a first-of-its kind move, Hawaii lawmakers are ready to hike a tax imposed on travelers staying in hotels, vacation rentals and other short-term accommodations and earmark the new money for programs to cope with a warming planet.State leaders say they ll use the funds for projects like replenishing sand on eroding beaches, helping homeowners install hurricane clips on their roofs and removing invasive grasses like those that fueled the deadly wildfire that destroyed Lahaina two years ago.A bill scheduled for House and Senate votes on Wednesday would add an additional 0.75 to the daily room rate tax starting Jan. 1. It s all but certain to pass given Democrats hold supermajorities in both chambers and party leaders have agreed on the measure. Gov. Josh Green has said he would sign it into law.Officials estimate the increase would generate 100 million in new revenue annually. We had a 13 billion tragedy in Maui and we lost 102 people. These kind of dollars will help us prevent that next disaster, Green said in an interview.Green said Hawaii was the first state in the nation to do something along these lines. Andrey Yushkov, a senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization, said he was unaware of any other state that has set aside lodging tax revenue for the purposes of environmental protection or climate change.

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