Hawaiʻi's Board of Land and Natural Resources was set to decide Friday whether to bring in an outside group from the Pacific Northwest to help manage millions of dollars generated by the state's new tourist Green Fee. The proposal would task the Portland, Oregon-based Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission with helping draft project proposals, vet candidates, award contracts and track spending on environmental and climate projects funded by the fee.
The five-year agreement under consideration carries a price tag of $5.4 million, with nearly $470,000 earmarked to cover the commission's own administrative costs, according to Honolulu Civil Beat. The remaining funds would go toward Green Fee projects themselves. A board briefing described the commission's role as purely administrative, stating that Hawaiʻi's Aquatic Resources Division would retain final approval over the process.
The Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission describes itself as an interstate agency focused on Pacific Ocean fishery resources, and it says on its website that it has no regulatory or management authority of its own. The organization was established in 1947 through a congressionally ratified compact and counts six member states: Alaska, California, Hawaiʻi, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
Who's Involved on Hawaiʻi's Side
Brian Neilson, director of Hawaiʻi's Aquatic Resources Division, is listed as one of three Hawaiʻi members of the commission. David Sakoda, a program manager and deputy at the same division, is listed as the commission's Hawaiʻi coordinator. Aquatic Resources Division officials did not respond to requests for comment from the Civil Beat reporter this week, the outlet's report notes.
The Green Fee itself, signed into law through a tourist tax the Legislature passed in April 2025, is meant to fight climate change, protect the environment and guard against natural disasters. The levy is now entering its second year and second funding round, per the same Civil Beat account, after a first round that drew far more requests than money available.
A Flood of Requests, A Fraction of the Funding
Last year's Green Fee Advisory Council considered more than 600 project submissions from the public, plus more than 100 proposals from state departments and agencies, according to the Hawaiʻi Green Fee Advisory Council. Those submissions sought more than $2 billion combined, the council says, while the Green Fee generates more than $100 million annually, according to Civil Beat's reporting. (A separate Department of Taxation projection cited by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser put additional revenue from the expanded Transient Accommodations Tax at $87 million annually, a figure that has not been reconciled with the Green Fee's reported total.)
The council ultimately recommended 75 high-priority projects for the 2026 legislative session, with funding recommendations totaling $126.41 million, including roughly $42 million split across environmental stewardship, climate and hazard mitigation, and sustainable tourism categories. But the Legislature's own final list of approved projects replaced about 40% of the council's recommendations, Civil Beat reports. The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported that 91 projects ultimately won legislative approval in May for $129 million, covering an 18-month window through June 30, 2027, with 75 of those 91 originally recommended by the governor and council.
Unclear Spending From Round One
Even as the state weighs outsourcing administrative work for round two, basic questions linger about round one. It remains unclear how much of the nearly $130 million the Legislature approved for projects last year has actually been awarded, Civil Beat reports. State agencies are responsible for awarding Green Fee dollars and must translate the priorities set by the advisory council and Legislature into procurement requests for proposals — a process that appears to still be underway.
A statewide coalition of more than 70 organizations, businesses and community leaders praised the first Green Fee funding package back in May while calling for greater transparency and accountability, according to Maui Now. A proposed Green Fee Resiliency and Impact Dashboard was not enacted that session, though the Department of Budget and Finance received dedicated funding for project tracking and status monitoring, the outlet reported.
What Happens Next
The Green Fee Advisory Council, which was scaled down from ten members in its first year to seven this year, expects to make its next round of recommendations to Gov. Josh Green in December, after which the governor would submit funding requests to the Legislature, per the Tribune-Herald. Friday's Board of Land and Natural Resources meeting was scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Kalanimoku Building and was available to stream online via the board's YouTube channel.
