The morning before the February 28, 2018, joint House & Senate Tourism Committee informational briefing on the 2018 state audit of the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), the Honolulu Star-Advertiser headline read, “State Auditor Clasts HTA For Lax Oversight and Accountability.” The revealing and often combative legislative briefing lasted for over two hours. eTurboNews originally reported the story HERE

Although the HTA later faced a potentially draconian cut to their $85+ million annual budget during the 2018 state legislative session, the final cuts turned out to be relatively small. The HTA budget is funded by the state’s Transient Accommodations Tax (TAT) which applies to all rental properties in Hawaii, including hotels, condos and B&Bs.

Click to read the full article at hawaiinews.online.