Sources

Sources

Verified August 2026. Where this wiki and a primary source disagree, the primary source is right.

Primary / official

• SB 1396 measure record — Hawaiʻi State Legislature — bill text, drafts, committee reports, testimony, status
• Gov. Green signs SB 1396 — Office of the Governor news release
• Historic Green Fee launched — Office of the Governor
• Hawaiʻi Department of Taxation — TA-2 instructions noting Act 96 changes
• Hawaiʻi Department of Taxation — Announcement 2026-01
• District of Hawaiʻi opinion on the cruise-industry challenge (Dec 2025)

Act 96 passage and mechanics

• Hawaiʻi governor signs historic "Green Fee" climate impact legislation — Maui Now (May 27, 2025)
• Hawaiʻi passes "Green Fee" for tourists — Travel Agent Central
• Nation's first climate impact fee among new Hawaiʻi laws — Maui Now (Jan 2026)
• Minimum wage hike, "Green Fee" tax among Hawaiʻi's new 2026 laws — Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Litigation

• Hawaiʻi's "green fee" clears legal hurdle — Honolulu Star-Advertiser (Dec 25, 2025)
• Green Fee survives legal challenge, takes effect Jan. 1 — Maui Now (Dec 26, 2025)
• Court decision allows "Green Fee" to take effect as scheduled — Kauaʻi Now (Dec 25, 2025)
• Hawaiʻi cruise ship Green Fee blocked by court (Ninth Circuit injunction) — Hawaii Guide
• Court confirms new cruise tax for 2026 — coverage of Act 96 cruise provisions

History: 2023 SB 304 and earlier

• SB 304 measure text (2023 session)
• Hawaiʻi's green fee proposal dies at the last minute — again — Honolulu Civil Beat (Apr 2023)
• Hawaiʻi "visitor impact fee" bill moves forward — Honolulu Star-Advertiser (Mar 2023)
• Visitors to Hawaiʻi won't pay more "green fees" for now — Honolulu Star-Advertiser (May 2023)
• Hawaiʻi green fee bill dies in conference session — The Garden Island (May 2023)
• As Hawaiʻi tourism rebounds, a new fee may soon hit visitors — SFGate

Climate Advisory Team and the funding gap

• Hawaiʻi governor renews call to charge visitors a climate impact fee — Honolulu Civil Beat (Jan 2024)
• Green forms team to address disasters and climate change — Hawaii Tribune-Herald (May 2024)
• Governor Green establishes climate advisory team — The Maui News (May 2024)
• Gov. Green's Climate Advisory Team talks priorities — Hawaiʻi Public Radio (Oct 2024)
• Climate Advisory Team — Hawaiʻi Green Fee Advisory Council
• Care for ʻĀina Now coalition
• Care for ʻĀina Now coalition supports natural resource stewardship — The Nature Conservancy
• Hawaiʻi faces $560 million funding gap — KITV coverage of Care for ʻĀina Now
• Column: Isles' green fee is just the beginning — Honolulu Star-Advertiser (Jun 2026)