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.

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.

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 Office of the Attorney General is reviewing the filing.

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.

Departments are currently sharing their priorities for funding with the Green Fee Advisory Council.

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.

This year's timeline is unique because the Green Fee was signed into law in May 2025 and the funds will start collecting in January 2026. The Advisory Council will move quickly to provide the Governor with a prioritized list of projects by December 2025 so they can be included with the Executive Supplemental Budget. The Advisory Council will also provide recommendations for the process and timeline for determining Green Fee funding for future years.

You are welcome to submit as many project ideas as you would like before November 1, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. HST.