House Transportation committee advances multiple resolutions; several items deferred for more information

The House Committee on Transportation on March 20, 2025, considered a slate of resolutions during its 10:15 a.m. meeting and moved most forward while deferring several for more information.

The committee moved HCR 201/HR 193 (requesting the Department of Transportation and the County of Maui to collaborate with the Kihei Community Association on the Kihei Mauka Road project) and HCR 203/HR 195 (urging the County of Maui to prioritize planning for the northern terminus of the Kihei North–South Collector Road) out of committee as filed.

HCR 205/HR 197, urging the County of Maui and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to prioritize planning and construction of a permanent replacement for the Kulani Hāko‘i bridge, was also advanced as filed. The committee recorded no registered oral testimony beyond written submissions for those items; the Department of Transportation’s highways administrator, Larry Dill, stood on testimony in support of the Kihei measures.

HCR 30/HR 29, which requests that each county police department increase enforcement against out‑of‑state vehicles not properly registered in the appropriate county, was adopted. One committee member commented during floor votes that taxpaying residents should not bear additional burdens when others fail to register vehicles properly.

HCR 44/HR 37, asking the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation to study extending the Skyline rail to Oahu’s west side, was moved out of committee but drew substantive member comments about design and feasibility for West Oahu. A pair of no votes were recorded on the measure. Committee discussion noted that extension concepts should consider alternatives to fully elevated concrete alignment to better serve West Oahu transit and emergency‑evacuation needs.

HCR 45/HR 38, which would transfer the Public Utilities Commission’s regulatory authority over motor carriers and other transportation means to the Department of Transportation, was deferred pending additional information from DOT; the committee set a follow-up decision‑making time on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, at 10 a.m.

HCR 71/HR 64 (requesting measures to prevent golf balls from reaching Farrington Highway at Ko Olina) and HCR 123/HR 119 (requesting a restricted parking zone pilot in Ko Olina, Honokai Hale, Nanakuli and Maʻili) were both adopted as filed. Several committee members noted that similar restricted parking pilots in Kalihi had worked and that the pilot could be extended to other communities affected by visitor parking.

HCR 120/HR 116, which requested the Department of Transportation’s Airports Division convene a task force to evaluate establishing a corporation to manage the state’s airports, drew the most extended discussion. Kirk Otaguro, Deputy Director for Airports, testified in opposition on behalf of DOT, explaining that the department believes current system governance and financing (airport revenue bonds and federal funds) already sustain operations and that creating an airport corporation could reduce legislative oversight and raise privatization concerns. Labor representatives and union speakers asked to be included in any task force. The committee deferred the measure for further consideration in light of DOT opposition and requested additional examples of airport-corporation models.

The committee concluded its session after advancing the listed resolutions and deferring those where members requested more information.