Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
House committee backs automatic rate-adjustment framework for interisland water carriers
Loading...
Summary
The House Transportation Committee advanced HB 2386, a measure to allow automatic annual rate adjustments for water carriers tied to a maritime benchmark and capped at 5%, after testimony from carriers, government agencies and food retailers. Committee adopted HD1 and deferred the effective date for further review.
The House Committee on Transportation on Feb. 12 advanced HB 2386, a bill authorizing the Public Utilities Commission to establish an automatic adjustment mechanism for water-carrier rates.
Supporters, including Young Brothers and the Department of Transportation, said the change would modernize a regulatory framework that has not been updated in decades. "This targeted modernization…will help address that gap," said David Beltre, associate general counsel for Young Brothers, describing guardrails that include a scheduled annual adjustment tied to an existing maritime benchmark, a 5% cap and mandatory full rate reviews every three years.
Opponents, notably the Hawaii Food Industry Association, said automatic increases are the wrong tool. "We do not think that automatic rate increases are the solution," said Paul of the Hawaii Food Industry Association, which represents grocery and food-supply businesses and urged more focus on expense reviews and operational efficiencies.
Young Brothers’ director of finance, Ashley Kishimoto, told the committee the carrier had "operated at a loss of more than $23,000,000," arguing that smaller, predictable adjustments would avoid shock 'catch-up' increases that follow long regulatory lags.
Committee members questioned whether other states regulate water carriers and asked witnesses for comparative context. The Department of Transportation said it will support the measure and noted its role in the working group that recommended the proposal.
The committee adopted HD1, made technical amendments for clarity and deferred the bill’s effective date for further consideration. The record shows a large volume of public testimony in favor (164 in support, one in opposition). The committee did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript for the HB 2386 final recommendation, only that the recommendation was adopted and the effective date deferred.
Next steps: HB 2386 will go forward with the committee’s amendments for consideration in subsequent floor or conference processes; the committee requested additional materials and comparative state examples from proponents.
