A working group that’s trying to figure out how just much hotel tax revenue the state should give the counties is planning to ask the Legislature for $150,000 next session so it can hire a consultant to help.

The 13-member group, created under a law passed last year, released its interim report to state lawmakers Friday.

The final report is due prior to the convening of the 2016 session. It’s expected to recommend to the Legislature the appropriate allocation of the transient accommodations tax revenues between the state and counties based on the division of duties and responsibilities between them.

The state has expanded its share of hotel tax revenue by capping the counties’ share. Source: State-County Functions Working Group interim report

The counties have a long history of fighting for what they consider to be their fair share of TAT revenue from the state. The hotel tax money is their second biggest source of revenue after property taxes.

The counties used to get 44.8 percent of the overall amount collected, but it was capped in 2011 at $93 million to split among Kauai, Maui, Honolulu and Hawaii counties. After heavy lobbying from the counties, the Legislature decided to give the counties an extra $10 million in 2015 and 2016 to share — far less than they would have received if lawmakers would have lifted the cap as requested.

Here’s the working group’s interim report.