The Green Fee was established by Act 96, signed into law on May 27, 2025. It ensures Hawaiʻi’s environment, resilience and visitor experience are strengthened through new dedicated funding. The Green Fee is a portion of the Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT). Revenues of this portion of the TAT will be used to fund environmental conservation, climate resilience and sustainable tourism in Hawaiʻi.

Anyone who stays in a hotel, vacation rental or cruise ship that docks at a Hawaiʻi port through the Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT).

January 1, 2026

The Green Fee is expected to generate more than $100 million annually. Based on current estimates from the Department of Taxation, $42 million in funds are expected for Fiscal Year 2026 and $87 million in funds are expected to be collected in Fiscal Year 2027.

The Green Fee Advisory Council is committed to ensuring Green Fee dollars are invested in ways that bring the greatest benefit to Hawaiʻi’s communities and environment – both today and into the future. By law, Green Fee funds can be used only for three purposes:

• Environmental stewardship

• Hazard mitigation & infrastructure resilience

• Visitor experience

Governor Green convened the Climate Advisory Team to develop community-informed, climate-related disaster policy recommendations for the 2025 legislative session. At the conclusion of Hawaiʻi’s 2025 legislative session, the “Green Fee” Bill (Act 96) passed, marking a historic commitment to increase disaster resilience and climate change mitigation efforts. Now, after the successful passage of Act 96, Governor Green created the Green Fee Advisory Council, a multi-sector volunteer group of local experts that will provide Governor Green with recommended funding priorities.

The Green Fee Advisory Council builds upon the work of the Governor’s Hawaiʻi Climate Advisory Team and the community advocates who came together for the passage of this historic legislation. The Climate Advisory Team’s 2025 policy paper provides a framework of recommendations and priorities for expending the Green Fee funds that the current Advisory Council will study, along with other models, criteria and proposals. 

The Green Fee Advisory Council will evaluate and recommend funding priorities. The Governor includes recommendations in the executive supplemental budget. The Legislature makes the final appropriations.

No. The Green Fee is the name given to the portion of the Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT) that was increased during the 2025 legislative session. All TAT revenues are deposited into the state’s general fund. The Hawaiʻi State Legislature appropriates money from the general fund for state programs and departments.

Currently, Act 96 does not enable Green Fee funds to be bonded. This is because Green Fee funds are general funds, not special funds. Only special funds can be bonded or invested to generate interest.

The Council considered two types of inputs:

• Public Project Ideas, submitted through an open portal to identify community priorities and needs.

• Formal State Agency Proposals, which are required for projects to move through the state budget process.

Public ideas helped inform priorities and highlight areas of need. However, only formal agency proposals could be evaluated for recommendation, because appropriations must flow through state departments. Public idea submissions were not applications and did not guarantee selection or implementation.

The Council considered multiple data sources, including:

• Visitor impact data

• Environmental and hazard mitigation assessments

• Destination Management Action Plans (DMAPs)

• Regional vulnerability and equity considerations

• Readiness and feasibility assessments from agencies

If funding is approved, monitoring and evaluation processes may include public-facing dashboards and reporting mechanisms to track outcomes over time.

Green Fee funds are required to flow through state agencies; the Advisory Council is actively identifying pathways to include nonprofits and community groups in project implementation. The Green Fee Advisory Council recognizes and deeply values the decades of work Hawaiʻi nonprofits and community organizations have invested in conservation, resilience and sustainable tourism initiatives. The Council intends to explore all available mechanisms that fit within the constraints of the current legislation to ensure Green Fee funds benefit the many organizations and communities that have been historically dedicated to this work.

The Hawaiʻi Department of the Attorney General is actively managing all legal matters related to the cruise line industry association’s lawsuit. In late December 2025, U.S. District Judge Jill A. Otake upheld Act 96, finding the cruise line industry’s arguments invalid. However, the cruise line industry has since filed an appeal. As of January 2026, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has temporarily paused the collection of the Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT) from cruise ship passengers while the appeal is under review. The Department of the Attorney General remains confident that Act 96 is lawful.

Based on the legislative budget process, funds appropriated by the legislature, including Green Fee funds, must be spent or encumbered in the fiscal year for which they are appropriated.

Yes, Green Fee funds can be used for state land acquisition. The caveat is the land must be used for state purposes and can’t be acquired to provide a financial advantage to a private entity. The process to acquire land is typically very long.

Yes, Green Fee funding can be appropriated to state departments and counties. The Advisory Council’s recommendations for funding will be considered by the Legislature as part of the state’s annual budget process. The State Legislature ultimately determines the appropriation of Green Fee funds; the Advisory Council’s role is to provide recommendations and guidance.

Organizations are encouraged to work directly with state departments if they are seeking grant funding.

The Advisory Council is in favor of the state creating a public dashboard or other resource that showcases the amount of Green Fee funds taken in and appropriated to projects each year.

The Department of Budget and Finance does not breakdown where specific funding mechanisms are then appropriated. All revenue collected by the state goes into the general fund and is then part of the whole revenue for the state. The administration will propose a separate, designated list of projects and programs for the green fee for consideration by the legislature.

The Advisory Council will provide go-forward recommendations to the Governor about how Green Fee funding should be determined in future years.

The Advisory Council will consult with subject matter experts as necessary throughout its process.

No. The Legislature makes the final decisions on how Green Fee funds are appropriated. The Green Fee Advisory Council does not have oversight authority but will be available throughout the 2026 legislative session to share information about its recommendations with legislators.

This year's timeline is unique because the Green Fee was signed into law in May 2025, and the funds start collecting in January 2026.

The Council will not be sharing individual project scores or rankings. Projects that score highly will be included in the Council’s overall recommendations. Once the evaluation process is complete, we will publicly share the list of recommended projects and their proposed funding amounts before the start of the 2026 legislative session.

No. The Council does not plan to open another phase for submitting additional information during this review cycle. However, we appreciate this feedback and encourage community members to look out for future opportunities to share ideas for potential Green Fee funding.

Yes. The Legislature appropriates Green Fee funding, and state departments are responsible for encumbering or spending those funds. If a department does not encumber the appropriated funding within the fiscal year, the remaining balance will lapse back to the general fund.

The Council is reviewing all submissions internally to honor that many project ideas were shared with the expectation that they would not be made public. The Council will not publish all 600+ submissions or their scores. Projects that score highly will be included in the Council’s overall recommendations. The list of recommended projects and proposed funding amounts will be publicly shared once the evaluation process is complete, prior to the start of the 2026 legislative session.

No. Receiving funding in the first year does not prevent a project from being considered in future years. The Council recognizes that some projects may require multi-year support. While the Council can only make recommendations for the first year of Green Fee funding, the Legislature may choose to continue funding a project in subsequent years.

No. The Council recommended funding categories and project budgets to be appropriated to state agencies. The Council does not select specific nonprofit organizations or vendors.

If funding is approved by the Legislature, state agencies will determine how projects are implemented and may issue grants, procure services, or use existing programs consistent with state law.

Green Fee revenues are deposited into the state’s general fund and appropriated by the Legislature to state departments and agencies.

If funding is approved:

1. The Legislature appropriates funds to a state agency.

2. The agency determines implementation approach.

3. The agency may partner with counties, nonprofits, or contractors through standard procurement or grantmaking processes.

The Council is advisory and does not manage funds.

If funding is approved, participation opportunities will be announced by the implementing state agencies through their normal procurement or grant processes.

• Organizations should:

• Monitor agency websites and procurement portals.

• Track the state budget bills.

• Sign up for the Council’s newsletter for high-level updates.

Submitting a public project idea does not automatically designate an organization as an implementer.

No. Individual project-by-project scores are not released publicly.

To protect fairness and avoid ranking specific submissions, the Council shares:

• The evaluation framework

• The criteria used

• The methodology applied

This ensures transparency about the process without publishing confidential or comparative scoring.

The Council’s recommendations focus primarily on project and program funding.

If funding is approved, state agencies determine how administration, grant management, and oversight are handled consistent with existing budgeting and procurement rules. In some cases, allowable administrative costs may be incorporated into program design.

The Council did recommend dedicated monitoring and evaluation funding to support transparency and accountability across funded portfolios.

The public can:

• Submit testimony during the legislative process.

• Track and participate in budget hearings at capitol.hawaii.gov.

• Contact the Council through the website.

The legislative process is public, and testimony opportunities are available throughout session.