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Maui County holds public hearing on motor vehicle tax rates effective Jan. 1, 2026
Summary
At a Maui County Council meeting, county staff opened a public hearing on motor vehicle tax rates set to take effect Jan. 1, 2026. One person testified, asking historical questions about a weight tax; the council closed public testimony without objection and agreed to accept written testimony.
Maui County officials opened a public hearing on proposed motor vehicle tax rates that will take effect Jan. 1, 2026. County Clerk Moana Luti outlined testimony rules and invited members of the public to speak; one person, identifying himself as John Q. Public, addressed the council during the public-comment period.
The hearing focused on the motor vehicle tax rates the County of Maui plans to set effective 01/01/2026. Moana Luti, County Clerk, told attendees that testimony must pertain to items on the agenda and that each testifier would be allowed up to three minutes. She also noted remote participants should use the raise-hand feature to be added to the testifier log and warned that disruptive behavior could result in ejection or removal from the meeting.
John Q. Public, who said he preferred to go by that name when testifying, asked whether historical automobiles in Hawaii had been charged a weight tax and said he had difficulty finding information about the weight tax from county sources. He recited historical details about the arrival of early automobiles in Honolulu and asked, “did they get charged a weight tax by the county and if so how much,” attributing the historical account to sources he found online.
No other members of the public registered to testify. A member of the council moved to close public testimony and accept written testimony; there were no objections and the council closed public testimony and agreed to accept written submissions. The meeting was then adjourned.
The record shows limited public engagement on this agenda item during the session: staff presented procedural instructions, one individual spoke during public comment with historical questions about weight taxation, and the council closed testimony without objection. The transcript does not include proposed rate amounts, a staff presentation of rate changes, or a vote on specific tax-rate figures. Written testimony was accepted for the record; the content and disposition of any subsequent council action on vehicle tax rates were not specified in the transcript.
