Posted on: Friday, July 1, 2005
57 new state laws go into effect today
Associated Press
Sellers of upscale properties in Hawai'i will have to pay higher conveyance taxes, felons will have to provide DNA samples, and parents likely will have to pay more for their children's school lunches.
These are among the 57 new state laws that take effect today.
The conveyance tax will remain at 10 cents per $100 for transactions under $600,000 but will increase to 20 cents per $100 for conveyances exceeding $600,000 and to 30 cents per $100 for those costing more than $1 million. The rates for non-occupant owners would go to 15 cents, 25 cents and 35 cents per $100, respectively.
When Gov. Linda Lingle signed the bill into law on June 23, she called it a "quality of life" issue. The increased revenues will be used to provide more affordable housing and to create a new land conservation fund to purchase and preserve so-called "heritage lands."
The state will suspend the fee increases for 30 days provided that property transfers were signed by yesterday, said Carl Watanabe, administrator of the Bureau of Conveyances. Property transfers signed after today will be charged the higher tax.
Revised forms were finalized yesterday and were to be posted on the bureau's Web site at www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/bc/bc.html, he said. Any person convicted of a felony offense, even if the plea is deferred, or is found not guilty by reason of insanity will be required to provide DNA samples.
Until now, only those convicted of murder or sexual offenses were required to provide DNA samples.
The new law establishes procedures for testing DNA samples for solving crimes, and provides that evidence that can be used for DNA analysis must be retained by law enforcement.
That bill was signed into law by acting Gov. James "Duke" Aiona on June 9.
Another new law allows the Department of Education to set school lunch prices to allow for recovery of one-half of the cost of preparing the lunches. The price would be based on the average cost of preparing the school lunch over the three preceding years.
Currently, the department can set the prices to recover only one-third of the cost, and that price is now $1.
Greg Knudsen, spokesman for the Department of Education, would not speculate if or when the school lunch price will go up.
The $8.9 billion two-year state budget, which was signed into law yesterday, and the Judiciary and Office of Hawaiian Affairs budgets also go into effect today, the first day of the new fiscal year. The Judiciary budget includes $95 million for a new court complex in Kapolei.
Other new laws that take effect today will:
• Create a temporary task force to develop recommendations for licensing and accreditation of private preschools. • Require owners of commercial vessels moored in state small boat harbors to pay a moorage fee based on a percentage of gross revenues derived from use of the vessel. • Give money for programs to assist female offenders in transitioning from prison back into the community. • Give $300,000 to the counties to control or eradicate the coqui frog. • Give $175,000 to support the state Foundation on Culture and the Arts' grants program. • Give money to fix soil problems that are causing graves and headstones to sink at Hawai'i State Veterans Cemetery. • Establish a commission to recognize and honor the late U.S. Sen. Hiram L. Fong.
