House Committee on Transportation advances package of resolutions, adopts amendments and defers one measure

The House Committee on Transportation on April 10 considered a package of Senate concurrent resolutions on topics ranging from highway speed enforcement studies to Kihei road planning and airport screening and took final committee action on most measures.

Committee members voted to pass or pass with amendments on a majority of the resolutions presented, while deferring one measure for further discussion with stakeholders. Measures moved forward include requests for DOT coordination on highway patrol and speed-camera studies, requests that Maui county agencies collaborate on Kihei roadway projects, a working group on subsidizing waterborne cargo transport, clarifying sharing of safety information for helicopter and air tours, and pilot programs for summer streets and airport scanning for illegal fireworks.

Why it matters: Several of the adopted resolutions direct state and county agencies to coordinate planning or to convene working groups that could affect local infrastructure, enforcement priorities and public information. The committee’s actions set these matters for further work or for placement in the legislative process.

Most significant actions taken

- SCR 23 (study of highway patrol and speed cameras): Committee recommendation adopted to pass as is. - SCR 37 (Kihei mauka Road project collaboration): Passed with amendment to refer county responsibility to the Maui County Department of Public Works (HD 1 adopted). - SCR 38 SD1 (northern terminus of Kihei North–South Collector Road): Passed as is. - SCR 150 SD1 (working group to subsidize waterborne cargo transport): Deferred for further discussion with parties involved. - SCR 153 (transfer of Huey Roads / jurisdictional clarifications): Passed with amendments (HD 1 adopted) to reflect county public-works jurisdiction. - SCR 180 SD1 (DOT sharing safety information about helicopter and air tours): Passed with amendments clarifying scope (amendment to page 3, line 27 limits sharing to helicopter and air tours). - SCR 181 SD1 (working group on lowering BAC to 0.05): Passed with amendments; director of DOT to chair or designate chair of the working group. - SCR 182 (summer streets pilot program; inclusion of Oahu): Passed (committee reconsidered and then adopted recommendation on roll-call vote). - SCR 184 (enforcement against out-of-state vehicles not properly registered): Passed as is. - SCR 200 SD1 (transportation management training programs): Passed as is. - SCR 231 SD1 (electronic scanning at airports to detect illegal fireworks): Passed as is.

Committee process and next steps

Several measures were passed with technical or jurisdictional amendments to reflect which county department has authority over roadways (Maui County Department of Public Works) or to limit the scope of a DOT information-sharing request (SCR 180 SD1). The committee deferred SCR 150 SD1 to allow further discussion among stakeholders. Passed resolutions will proceed according to legislative rules and scheduling.

Votes at a glance: the committee chair reported each recommendation adopted or deferred during the session; specific roll-call counts were recorded for SCR 182 after a motion to reconsider that item (the measure was adopted on a roll-call vote with one recorded No). Individual member votes were noted in the committee record for that roll call.