State’s new ‘Green fee’ will be allowed to take effect as scheduled after court ruling

File Photo Courtesy: The Nature Conservancy

By Nathan Christophel for Big Island Now

U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaiʻi earlier this week dismissed a majority of claims challenging the state’s Act 96, signed by Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green in May, and denied a plaintiff motion for a preliminary injunction to stop the act from taking effect at the beginning of next year.

“In short, the court declines at this stage to halt the implementation of the transient accommodation tax on cruise ships in Hawai‘i,” wrote U.S. District Judge Jill Otake in her ruling, which she issued Tuesday (Dec. 23).

As a result, the state’s new “Green fee” will go into effect Jan. 1, 2026, as planned. It also means the lawsuit — which was filed Aug. 27 — will likely still be undecided even as Act 96 is put into action.

Click here to read the full story published by Big Island Now on Dec. 25