Haw. Rev. Stat. § 261-54 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 261 / Section 261-54
Special facility lease.
Status: in_force

(a) In addition to the conditions and terms set forth in this part, any special facility lease entered into by the department shall at least contain provisions obligating the other person to the special facility lease:

(1) To pay to the department during the initial term of the special facility lease, whether the special facility is capable of being used or occupied or is being used or occupied by the other person, a rental or rentals at the time or times and in the amount or amounts that will be sufficient: to pay the principal and interest on all special facility revenue bonds issued for the special facility, to establish or maintain any reserves for these payments, and to pay all fees and expenses of the trustees, paying agents, transfer agents, and other fiscal agents for the special facility revenue bonds issued for the special facility;

(2) To pay to the department:

(A) A ground rental, equal to the fair market rental of the land, if the land on which the special facility is located was not acquired from the proceeds of the special facility revenue bonds; or

(B) A properly allocable share of the administrative costs of the department in carrying out the special facility lease and administering the special facility revenue bonds issued for the special facility, if the land was acquired from the proceeds of the special facility revenue bonds;

(3) To either operate, maintain, and repair the special facility and pay the costs thereof or to pay to the department all costs of operation, maintenance, and repair of the special facility;

(4) To:

(A) Insure, or cause to be insured, the special facility under builder's risk insurance (or similar insurance) in the amount of the cost of construction of the special facility to be financed from the proceeds of the special facility revenue bonds;

(B) Procure and maintain, or cause to be procured or maintained, to the extent commercially available, a comprehensive insurance policy providing protection and insuring the department and its officers, agents, servants, and employees (and so long as special facility revenue bonds are outstanding, the trustee) against all direct or contingent loss or liability for damages for personal injury or death or damage to property, including loss of use thereof, occurring on or in any way related to the special facility or occasioned by reason of occupancy by and the operations of the other person upon, in, and around the special facility;

(C) Provide all risk casualty insurance, including insurance against loss or damage by fire, lightning, flood, earthquake, typhoon, or hurricane, with standard extended coverage and standard vandalism and other malicious mischief endorsements; and

(D) Provide insurance for workers' compensation, employer's liability, and aircraft liability (including passenger liability) for personal injury or death or damage to property (the other party may self-insure for workers' compensation if permitted by law);

provided that all policies with respect to loss or damage of property including fire or other casualty and extended coverage and builder's risk shall provide for payments of the losses to the department, the other person, or the trustee as their respective interests may appear; and provided further that the insurance may be procured and maintained as part of or in conjunction with other policies carried by the other person; and provided further that the insurance shall name the department, and so long as any special facility revenue bonds are outstanding, the trustee, as additional insured; and

(5) To indemnify, save, and hold the department, the trustee and their respective agents, officers, members, and employees harmless from and against all claims and actions and all costs and expenses incidental to the investigation and defense thereof, by or on behalf of any person, firm, or corporation, based upon or arising out of the special facility or the other person's use and occupancy thereof, including, without limitation, from and against all claims and actions based upon and arising from any:

(A) Condition of the special facility;

(B) Breach or default on the part of the other person in the performance of any of the person's obligations under the special facility lease;

(C) Fault or act of negligence of the other person or the person's agents, contractors, servants, employees, or licensees; or

(D) Accident to or injury or death of any person or loss of or damage to any property occurring in or about the special facility, including any claims or actions based upon or arising by reason of the negligence or any act of the other person.

Any moneys received by the department pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3) shall be paid into the airport revenue fund and shall not be nor be deemed to be revenues of the special facility.

(b) The term and all renewals and extensions of the term of any special facility lease (including any amendments or supplements thereto) shall not extend beyond the lesser of the reasonable life of the special facility which is the subject of the special facility lease, as estimated by the department at the time of the entering into thereof, or thirty years.

(c) Any special facility lease entered into by the department shall be subject to chapter 171 and shall contain any other terms and conditions that the department deems advisable to effectuate the purposes of this part. [L 1971, c 160, pt of §1; am L 1998, c 284, §2]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 261-11 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 261 / Section 261-11
Public purpose of activities.
Status: in_force

The acquisition of any lands or interests therein pursuant to this chapter, the planning, acquisition, establishment, construction, improvement, maintenance, equipment, and operation of airports and air navigation facilities; and the exercise of any other powers granted by this chapter to the department of transportation are declared to be public and governmental functions, exercised for a public purpose, and matters of public necessity. All lands and other property and privileges acquired and used by or on behalf of the State in the manner and for the purposes enumerated in this chapter shall and are declared to be acquired and used for public and governmental purposes and as a matter of public necessity.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 266-56 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 266 / Section 266-56
REPEALED.
Status: in_force

L 1993, c 2, §4 and c 212, §4.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 269-28 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 269 / Section 269-28
Penalty.
Status: in_force

(a) Any public utility violating or neglecting or failing in any particular to conform to or comply with this chapter or any lawful order of the public utilities commission shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 for each day such violation, neglect, or failure continues, to be assessed by the commission after a hearing in accordance with chapter 91. The commission may order the public utility to cease carrying on its business while the violation, neglect, or failure continues.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), any public utility violating or neglecting or failing in any particular to conform to or comply with any rule or order of the commission setting forth safety requirements applicable to the transmission of gas shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 for each day that the violation, neglect, or failure continues; provided that the maximum penalty for related violations arising out of the same act, omission, or occurrence shall not exceed $500,000.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), any person acting in the capacity of or engaging in the business of a public utility in the State without having a certificate of public convenience and necessity or other authority previously obtained under and in compliance with this chapter and the rules promulgated thereunder may be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each such offense, and, in the case of a continuing violation, $5,000 for each day that uncertified activity continues.

(d) Upon written application filed within fifteen days after service of an order imposing a civil penalty pursuant to this section, the commission may remit or mitigate such penalty upon such terms as it deems proper.

(e) If any civil penalty imposed pursuant to this section is not paid within such period as the commission may direct, the attorney general shall institute a civil action for recovery of same in circuit court. [L 1913, c 89, §15; RL 1925, §2205; am L 1933, c 169, §3; RL 1935, §7963; RL 1945, §4724; RL 1955, §104-25; HRS §269-28; am L 1977, c 7, §1; am L 1988, c 254, §1; am L 1989, c 242, §1; am L 1991, c 57, §11]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 269-27.5 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 269 / Section 269-27.5
Construction of high-voltage electric transmission lines; hearing.
Status: in_force

Whenever a public utility plans to place, construct, erect, or otherwise build a new 46 kilovolt or greater high-voltage electric transmission system above the surface of the ground through any residential area, the public utilities commission shall conduct a public hearing prior to its issuance of approval thereof. Notice of the hearing shall be given in the manner provided in section 269-16 for notice of public hearings.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 271-3 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 271 / Section 271-3
Application of chapter, interstate, or foreign commerce.
Status: in_force

Neither this chapter nor any provision hereof shall apply to commerce with foreign nations or to interstate commerce, except insofar as the application is permitted under the Constitution and laws of the United States.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 271G-18 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 271G / Section 271G-18
Accounts, records, and reports.
Status: in_force

The public utilities commission may require annual, periodical, or special reports from all water carriers, prescribe the manner and form in which the reports shall be made, and require from the carriers specific and full, true, and correct answers to all questions upon which the commission may deem information to be necessary.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 266-19 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 266 / Section 266-19
Creation of harbor special fund; disposition of harbor special fund.
Status: in_force

[Effect and application. L 1989, c 309, §10.] (a) There is created in the treasury of the State the harbor special fund. All moneys received by the department of transportation from the rates, fees, fines, and administrative penalties pursuant to sections 266-17(a)(1), 266-25, 266-28, and 266-30 shall be paid into the harbor special fund. The harbor special fund and the second separate harbor special fund heretofore created shall be consolidated into the harbor special fund at such time as there are no longer any revenue bonds payable from the second separate harbor special fund. The harbor reserve fund heretofore created is abolished.

All moneys derived pursuant to this chapter from harbor properties of the statewide system of harbors shall be paid into the harbor special fund and each fiscal year shall be appropriated, applied, or expended by the department of transportation for the statewide system of harbors for any purpose within the jurisdiction, powers, duties, and functions of the department of transportation related to the statewide system of harbors, including, without limitation, the costs of operation, maintenance, and repair of the statewide system of harbors and reserves therefor, and acquisitions (including real property and interests therein), constructions, additions, expansions, improvements, renewals, replacements, reconstruction, engineering, investigation, and planning, for the statewide system of harbors, all or any of which in the judgment of the department of transportation are necessary to the performance of its duties or functions.

(b) At any time the director of transportation may transfer from the harbor special fund created by subsection (a) all or any portion of available moneys on deposit in the harbor special fund that is determined by the director of transportation to be in excess of one hundred fifty per cent of the requirements for the ensuing twelve months for the harbor special fund, as permitted by and in accordance with section 37-53. For purposes of this determination, the director of transportation shall take into consideration the amount of federal funds and bond funds on deposit in, and budgeted to be expended from, the harbor special fund during the ensuing twelve months; amounts on deposit in the harbor special fund that are encumbered or otherwise obligated; budgeted amounts payable from the harbor special fund during the ensuing twelve months; revenues anticipated to be received by and expenditures to be made from the harbor special fund during the ensuing twelve months based on existing agreements and other information for that period; and any other factors as the director of transportation shall deem appropriate.

(c) All expenditures by the department shall be made on vouchers duly approved by the director of transportation or such other officer as may be designated by the director of transportation. [L 1941, c 142, §2; am L 1943, c 97, §1; RL 1945, §4998; am L 1945, c 112, §2; am L 1947, c 72, §3; RL 1955, §112-20; am L 1967, c 221, §6; HRS §266-19; am L 1979, c 105, §25; am L 1989, c 309, §7; am L 1998, c 114, §2; am L 2012, c 313, §2; am L 2021, c 230, §2]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 261-36 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 261 / Section 261-36
Rules and regulations.
Status: in_force

The director may adopt rules and regulations to carry out the purposes of sections 261-31 to 261-36 and may adopt all or any part of applicable federal rules and regulations which are necessary or desirable to obtain federal assistance in making payments hereunder.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 262-2 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 262 / Section 262-2
Airport hazards contrary to public interest.
Status: in_force

An airport hazard endangers the lives and property of users of an airport and of occupants of land in its vicinity, and in effect reduces the size of the area available for the landing, taking-off, and maneuvering of aircraft, thus tending to destroy or impair the utility of an airport and the public investment therein. Accordingly, it is declared:

(1) That the creation, maintenance, or establishment of an airport hazard is a public nuisance and an injury to the community served by the airport in question; therefore, it is necessary in the interest of the public health, public safety, and general welfare that the creation, maintenance, or establishment of airport hazards be prevented; and

(2) That the prevention of the creation, maintenance, or establishment of airport hazards should be accomplished, to the extent legally possible, by exercise of the police power, without compensation.

It is further declared that both the prevention of the creation, maintenance, or establishment of airport hazards and the elimination, removal, alteration, mitigation, or marking and lighting of existing airport hazards are public purposes. [L 1965, c 140, pt of §1; Supp, §17A-2; HRS §262-2]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 269-10 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 269 / Section 269-10
Commission may compel attendance of witnesses, etc.
Status: in_force

In all investigations made by the public utilities commission, and in all proceedings before it, the commission and each commissioner shall have the same powers respecting administering oaths, compelling the attendance of witnesses and the production of documentary evidence, examining witnesses, and punishing for contempt, as are possessed by circuit courts. In case of disobedience by any person to any order of the commission or of any commissioner, or any subpoena issued by it or the commissioner, or of the refusal of any witness to testify to any matter regarding which the witness may be questioned lawfully, any circuit court, on application by the commission or a commissioner, shall compel obedience as in case of disobedience of the requirements of a subpoena issued from a circuit court or a refusal to testify therein. No person shall be excused from testifying or from producing any book, waybill, document, paper, or account in any investigation or inquiry by a hearing before the commission or any commissioner, when ordered to do so, upon the ground that the testimony or evidence, book, waybill, document, paper, or account required of the person may tend to incriminate the person or subject the person to penalty or forfeiture; but no person shall be prosecuted for any crime, punished for any crime, or subjected to any criminal penalty or criminal forfeiture for or on account of any act, transaction, matter, or thing concerning which the person shall under oath have testified or produced documentary evidence. Nothing herein shall be construed as in any manner giving to any public utility or any person immunity of any kind. The fees and traveling expenses of witnesses shall be the same as allowed witnesses in the circuit courts and shall be paid by the State out of any appropriation available for the expenses of the commission. All meetings and hearings of the commission shall be public.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 266-25 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 266 / Section 266-25
Violation of rules; penalty.
Status: in_force

(a) In addition to the reimbursement of fines and costs as provided in section 266-28, any person who violates any rule made, adopted, and published by the department of transportation as herein provided, or who violates any lawful command of any harbor master, harbor agent, facility security officer, or harbor district manager, while in the discharge of the person's duty, or who violates this chapter, except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), shall be fined not more than $1,000 or less than $50 for each violation, and any vessel, the agents, owner, or crew of which violate the rules of the department or this part, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or less than $50 for each violation; provided that in addition to or as a condition to the suspension of the fines and penalties, a court, the department, or an administrative hearings officer may deprive the offender of the privilege of entering the secured area of the port or obtaining an operating or mooring permit for any vessel in state waters for a period of not more [than] one year; provided further that the offender, at the resumption of the privilege of operating or mooring a vessel in state waters, shall assume the last position on any waiting list.

(b) Any person who violates any rule adopted by the department of transportation under this part regulating vehicular parking or traffic movement shall have committed a traffic infraction as set forth in chapter 291D, the adjudication of which shall be subject to the provisions contained therein. A person found to have committed such a traffic infraction shall be fined not more than:

(1) $100 for a first violation;

(2) $200 for a second violation; and

(3) $500 for a third or subsequent violation.

(c) Any person who violates any rule adopted by the department of transportation relating to unauthorized discharge, dumping, or abandoning any petroleum product, hazardous material, or sewage in any state harbor facility or state waters in violation of the state water quality standards established by the department of health, shall be fined not more than $10,000 for each day of violation, and any vessel, the agents, owner, or crew of which violate the rules of the department of transportation or this chapter, shall be fined not more than $10,000 for each day of violation; provided that in addition to or as a condition to the suspension of the fines and penalties, the court, department, or administrative [hearings] officer may deprive the offender of the privilege of entering the secured area of the port or obtaining an operating or mooring permit for any vessel in state waters for a period of not more than one year; provided further that the offender, at the resumption of the privilege of operating or mooring a vessel in state waters, shall assume the last position on any waiting list. [L 1911, c 163, §9; RL 1925, §844; RL 1935, §1744; RL 1945, §4995; RL 1955, §112-23; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §26; HRS §266-25; am L 1984, c 187, §2; am L 1987, c 361, §2; am L 2007, c 139, §3; am L 2012, c 313, §3]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 268-16 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 268 / Section 268-16
Report.
Status: in_force

The director of transportation shall prepare a report in writing of the nature and extent of the director's activities under this chapter whenever the director deems it necessary or appropriate. The report shall be delivered to each house of the legislature.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 261E-10 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 261E / Section 261E-10
Transfer of certificates of public convenience and necessity; carrier property; control of carriers.
Status: in_force

(a) No Hawaii air carrier shall sell, lease, assign, mortgage, or otherwise dispose of, or encumber any certificate, in whole or in part, or any of its property necessary or useful in the performance of transportation services for the public; nor shall any Hawaii air carrier, by any means, directly or indirectly, merge or consolidate its property, certificates, or any part thereof, with any other carrier, without in each case first having secured from the air carrier commission an order authorizing it to do so, and every such sale, lease, assignment, mortgage, disposition, encumbrance, merger, or consolidation, made other than in accordance with an order of the commission authorizing the same, shall be void and of no effect.

(b) No Hawaii air carrier shall purchase or acquire, take, or hold any part of the capital stock of any other common carrier without having been first authorized to do so by the commission. Every assignment or transfer of any stock by or through any person to any person, or otherwise, in violation of this section shall be void and of no effect, and no such transfer shall be made on the books of any air carrier. Nothing in this subsection shall prevent the holding of stock lawfully acquired prior to the effective date of this chapter.

(c) No person shall acquire control of any Hawaii air carrier without first receiving the approval of the commission.

(d) Whenever a transaction is proposed under subsection (a), (b), or (c), the Hawaii air carrier or carriers, or person or persons, seeking approval shall present an application to the commission in the form prescribed by the commission. The commission may act upon the application with or without first holding a public hearing; provided that, if requested, the commission shall afford reasonable opportunity for interested parties to be heard. If the commission finds, subject to the terms and conditions that it determines to be just and reasonable, that the proposed transaction will be consistent with the public interest, the commission shall enter an order approving and authorizing the transaction, upon the terms and conditions and with the modifications found to be just and reasonable. The proponent of the transaction within the scope of subsection (a), (b), or (c) shall have the burden of proof to establish that the transaction is consistent with the public interest.

(e) Pending the determination of an application filed with the commission for approval of a consolidation or merger of the properties of two or more Hawaii air carriers, or of a purchase, lease, charter, or contract to operate the properties of one or more Hawaii air carriers, or of an acquisition of control of a Hawaii air carrier, the commission, in its discretion and without hearings or other proceedings, may grant temporary approval for a period not exceeding one hundred twenty days, or for an additional period as the determination of an application may require, of the operation of the Hawaii air carrier properties sought to be acquired by the persons proposing in the pending application to acquire the properties, if it appears that failure to grant this temporary approval may result in destruction of or injury to the Hawaii air carrier properties sought to be acquired or substantial interference with their future usefulness in the performance of adequate and continuous service to the public.

(f) This section shall apply to any transaction entered into or proposed to be entered into by a related company that is determined by the commission to have potential impact upon the related Hawaii air carrier or its operations. A related company shall notify the commission of any such transaction at least sixty days prior to its consummation. [L Sp 2008, c 1, pt of §2]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 271G-7 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 271G / Section 271G-7
General duties and powers of the commission.
Status: in_force

The general duties and powers of the public utilities commission shall be:

(1) To regulate water carriers, and to that end the commission shall have and utilize the investigative powers set forth in section 269-7 as well as all of the duties and powers specifically enumerated in this chapter, and water carriers shall be subject to the duties set forth in sections 269-8 and 269-9 as well as all of the duties specifically enumerated herein.

(2) To establish such just and reasonable classifications of water carriers as the special nature of the services performed by the carriers shall require, and such just and reasonable rules, regulations, and requirements, consistent with this chapter, to be observed by the carriers so classified or grouped, as the commission deems necessary or desirable in the public interest. Such classifications, rules, regulations, and requirements shall be adopted and promulgated pursuant to the provisions of chapter 91 and shall have the force and effect of law.

(3) Upon complaint in writing to the commission by any person or body politic, or upon its own initiative without complaint, the commission may investigate whether any water carrier has failed to comply with any provision of this chapter, or with any rule or order adopted or issued hereunder.

(4) The commission may investigate any person acting in the capacity of or engaging in the business of a water carrier within the State, without having a certificate of public convenience and necessity or other authority previously obtained under and in compliance with this chapter or the rules promulgated under this chapter. [L 1974, c 94, pt of §1; am L 1991, c 57, §15]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 264-6 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 264 / Section 264-6
State highway not to be disturbed without permit.
Status: in_force

No person or government agency, whether federal, state, or county, shall, in any manner or for any purpose do any of the following acts without a written permit from the director of transportation or the director's authorized representative:

(1) Break up, dig up, disturb, undermine or dig under, or cause to be broken up, dug up, disturbed, undermined, or dug under, the right-of-way of any state highway; or

(2) Place, erect, leave, or store any structure, motor or other vehicle, equipment, or any other object wholly or partially within the right-of-way of any state highway; provided that this paragraph shall not apply to the holding or displaying of movable signs, for the purpose of carrying on political campaign activities. [L 1967, c 163, pt of §2; HRS §264-6; am L 1980, c 146, §1; gen ch 1985]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 268-9 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 268 / Section 268-9
Seamen may sue for injuries; venue.
Status: in_force

The State consents to suits against the department of transportation by seamen for injuries occurring upon vessels under the authority of the Hawaii state ferries system in accordance with title 46 United States Code section 30104. The venue of the actions may be in the first circuit court or the circuit wherein the injury occurred.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 269E-13 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 269E / Section 269E-13
Excavation permits.
Status: in_force

Prior to conducting an excavation, the excavator shall obtain all necessary permits from the appropriate agency or agencies pursuant to the laws, rules, regulations, procedures, and requirements governing the issuance of such permits.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 269-168 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 269 / Section 269-168
Treatment of bonds, fees, and property.
Status: in_force

(a) In the furtherance of section 39-65, the ownership, transfer, and pledge of the green infrastructure fee and green infrastructure property and the imposition, charging, collection, and receipt of the green infrastructure fee and green infrastructure charge are exempt from all taxes and surcharges imposed by the State or the counties, including the general excise tax under chapter 237, public service company tax under chapter 239, public utility fee under section 269-30, and public utility franchise tax under chapter 240.

(b) Bonds issued under a financing order shall not be an obligation of any electric utility. The issuance of bonds shall not directly, indirectly, or contingently obligate the electric utility for payment of the principal of or interest on the bonds. [L 2013, c 211, pt of §3]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 279D-5 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 279D / Section 279D-5
Oahu transportation management area metropolitan planning organization revolving fund.
Status: in_force

(a) There is established in the state treasury a revolving fund to be known as the Oahu transportation management area metropolitan planning organization revolving fund to be administered by the department of transportation in accordance with federal law and into which shall be deposited:

(1) Member financial dues;

(2) All revenues from the operations of the Oahu transportation management area metropolitan planning organization;

(3) Appropriations by the legislature out of the state highway fund to the Oahu transportation management area metropolitan planning organization revolving fund;

(4) Federal funds or grants; and

(5) Gifts, grants, and any other moneys made available to the fund.

(b) Except as otherwise provided by federal law, expenditures from the Oahu transportation management area metropolitan planning organization revolving fund may be made; provided that no expenditure shall be made from and no obligation shall be incurred against the revolving fund in excess of the amount standing to the credit of the revolving fund or for any purpose for which the revolving fund may not lawfully be expended. Nothing in sections 37-31 to 37-41 shall require the proceeds of the revolving fund to be reappropriated annually.

(c) The Oahu metropolitan planning organization shall report annually to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session beginning with the regular session of 2016 on a detailed accounting of the activities of the revolving fund for the previous year. [L 2015, c 132, pt of §1]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 273-3 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 273 / Section 273-3
Special powers.
Status: in_force

For the purposes and subject to the provisions and restrictions of this chapter, the corporation, from time to time, may exercise any of the following powers:

(1) It may enter upon any lands that may adjoin upon the line of any railway that may be authorized by charter to be made, and may bore, dig, cut, trench, embank, and drain, and may remove or lay, take, carry away, and use any earth, gravel, stone, timber, or other things dug or obtained therein or otherwise in the execution of any powers hereafter in this chapter given, and that may be proper for the making, maintaining, altering, repairing, or using of any railway lawfully authorized, or that may obstruct the making, maintaining, altering, repairing, or using of the same;

(2) It may make, in, upon, across, under, or over any such lands, or any street, roads, ways, railroads, tramways, hills, valleys, rivers, canals, watercourses, or waters, any temporary or permanent inclined planes, tunnels, cuttings, embankments, aqueducts, bridges, roads, ways, passages, conduits, drains, piers, arches, fences, and other work and conveniences as the corporation thinks proper;

(3) It may alter the course of any rivers not navigable, canals, brooks, streams, or watercourses during any times as is necessary for constructing or maintaining tunnels, bridges, or other works over, under, or affecting the same; and may temporarily or permanently alter the course of any rivers or streams, or raise or sink the level of any rivers or streams, streets, roads, or ways, to carry more conveniently the same over or under or by the side of any railway;

(4) It may make drains or conduits into, through, or under any lands adjoining the railway for the purpose of conveying water from or to the railway, and upon the railway, or any lands adjoining or near thereto;

(5) It may make piers, jetties, stations, sidings, wharves, warehouses, tollhouses, and other houses, yards, engines, machinery, signal posts, and other apparatus, works, and conveniences whatsoever connected with the railway as the corporation may think proper, and may from time to time alter, repair, or discontinue any apparatus, works, and conveniences, and substitute others in their stead;

(6) It may fell or remove any timber or other trees being within two hundred feet from either side of the railway that, by their liability to fall or otherwise, might obstruct or injure the railway;

(7) It may also fell or cut down and remove any trees or wood, whether timber or other trees, or scrub or underwood, that, by reason of the line making a curve or otherwise, may obstruct or impede a view of any signal post from any portion of the line within one mile in a right line from any signal post;

(8) It may enter upon and use any existing private road, being a road graveled or formed with stones or other hard material, and not being an avenue or approach to any dwelling house;

(9) It may enter upon and take, purchase, and hold all lands, tenements, and hereditaments as may be required for the purposes of the railway and works connected therewith; and

(10) It may do all other things necessary or convenient for making, maintaining, altering, or repairing and using the railway.

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to authorize any corporation to enter upon or take any tidewaters, nor in any way to hinder, obstruct, or interfere with navigation in or upon any public navigable waters, nor to erect, build, or maintain any pier, jetty, or wharf in, upon, or over any harbor, bay, or river beyond high watermark. [L 1878, c 29, §3; am L 1898, c 52, §1; RL 1925, §879; RL 1935, §1785; RL 1945, §5043; RL 1955, §106-3; HRS §273-3; am L 2020, c 70, §24]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 269-110 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 269 / Section 269-110
Termination by eligible customer-generators.
Status: in_force

If an eligible customer-generator terminates the customer relationship with the electric utility, the electric utility shall reconcile the eligible customer‑generator's consumption and production of electricity, including any unused credits for excess electricity from the eligible customer‑generator carried over from prior months, for the period following the last twelve-month reconciliation period to the date of termination of the relationship, according to the requirements set forth in this part.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 271-32 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 271 / Section 271-32
Reconsideration and rehearings.
Status: in_force

(a) After any order or decision has been made by the public utilities commission, any party to the proceeding may apply once for reconsideration or a rehearing in respect to any matter determined in the proceeding and specified in the motion for reconsideration or rehearing. The commission may grant the motion if in its judgment sufficient reason is made to appear.

(b) The motion for reconsideration or a rehearing shall be filed within ten days after the decision and order has been served and shall set forth specifically the ground or grounds on which the applicant considers the decision or order to be unlawful. No person shall in any court urge or rely on any ground not so set forth in the motion. If a motion for reconsideration or rehearing is filed from a final decision and order, the commission's order shall be automatically stayed until the commission renders its final determination on the motion; provided that:

(1) No change in any rate, fare, or charge shall go into effect while a motion for reconsideration or rehearing is pending notwithstanding section 271-20(e);

(2) Any motion for reconsideration or rehearing shall be determined and an order issued by the commission within forty-five days from the filing date of the motion for reconsideration or rehearing; and

(3) The commission may set aside the automatic stay in its discretion.

(c) A motion for reconsideration or rehearing shall not excuse any person from complying with and obeying any order or decision, or any requirement of any order or decision of the commission theretofore made, or operate in any manner to stay or postpone the enforcement thereof, except in such cases and upon such terms as the commission by order directs.

(d) If, after reconsideration or rehearing the commission is of the opinion that the original order or decision, or any part thereof, is in any respect unjust or unwarranted, or should be changed, the commission may abrogate, change, or modify it. The order or decision abrogating, changing, or modifying the original order or decision shall have the same force and effect as an original order or decision, but shall not affect any right or the enforcement of any right arising from or by virtue of the original order or decision unless so ordered by the commission.

(e) An appeal shall lie, subject to chapter 602, from every order made by the commission that is final, or if preliminary, is of the nature defined by section 91-14(a), in the manner provided for civil appeals from the circuit court; provided the order is made after reconsideration or rehearing or is the subject of a motion for reconsideration or rehearing, which the commission has denied. An appeal shall lie, subject to chapter 602, in the manner provided for civil appeals from the circuit courts, only by a person aggrieved in the contested case hearing provided for in this section. [L 1961, c 121, pt of §2; Supp, §106C-30; HRS §271-32; am L 1979, c 127, §1; am L 1980, c 232, §8; am L 2000, c 167, §1; am L 2004, c 202, §31; am L 2006, c 94, §1; am L 2010, c 109, §1]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 268-2 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 268 / Section 268-2
"Hawaii State Ferries" name authorized.
Status: in_force

The department of transportation may operate its ferry system under the name "Hawaii State Ferries".
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 269-125 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 269 / Section 269-125
On-bill financing for energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Status: in_force

(a) The public utilities commission shall investigate an on-bill financing program that would allow an electric utility company customer to purchase or otherwise acquire a renewable energy system or energy-efficient device, as determined by the public utilities commission, by providing for billing and payment of such a system or device through an assessment on the electric utility company customer's electricity bill.

(b) In investigating an on-bill financing program, the public utilities commission may consider:

(1) The costs and benefits associated with the establishment and administration of the program;

(2) The ability of the program to effectively provide life cycle cost savings to participating electric utility company customers;

(3) The ability of the program to make renewable energy and energy efficiency more accessible to the rental market and other underserved markets;

(4) Methods to structure the program to ensure that any public benefits fee funds are spent cost-effectively and in compliance with applicable statutes;

(5) The use of non-ratepayer funds or private capital to provide financing for renewable energy systems or energy-efficient devices acquired through the program;

(6) Reasonable penalties, which may include fines and disconnection of utility services, for nonpayment of on-bill financing costs;

(7) The ability of an electric utility company to recover costs incurred due to the program; and

(8) Other issues the public utilities commission deems appropriate.

(c) If on-bill financing is determined by the public utilities commission to be viable, the public utilities commission may implement an on-bill financing program by decision and order or by rules pursuant to chapter 91.

(d) Amounts collected from electric utility customers by electric utilities for the repayment of on-bill obligations shall not be considered revenue of the electric utilities and accordingly, shall not be subject to state or county taxes, including the general excise tax under chapter 237, the public service company tax under chapter 239, the public utility fee under section 269-30, and the public utility franchise tax under chapter 240.

(e) The act of serving as an agent to bill and to collect the repayment of on-bill obligations shall not cause any electric utility to be subject to the laws that regulate financial institutions, escrow depositories, or collection agencies. An electric utility shall not be responsible for lending, underwriting, and credit determinations.

(f) As used in this section:

"On-bill obligation" means any and all costs resulting from the acquisition and installation of renewable energy, energy efficiency, or energy conservation systems approved by the public utilities commission for repayment through an on-bill program.

"On-bill program" means any program approved by the public utilities commission that allows for the payment or repayment by an electric utility customer for the acquisition and installation of renewable energy, energy efficiency, or energy conservation systems as part of the electric utility customer's electric utility bill. [L 2011, c 204, §2; am L 2015, c 201, §2]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 266-21.4 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 266 / Section 266-21.4
Marine inspections.
Status: in_force

(a) The department shall:

(1) Develop a list of minimum requirements for the marine inspection of vessels seeking permits to moor in state commercial harbors;

(2) Approve qualified marine surveyors to inspect vessels seeking permits to moor in state commercial harbors; and

(3) Approve a fee schedule for marine surveyors' inspections.

(b) Vessels failing the marine inspection for a permit or a permit renewal shall have thirty days to correct deficiencies and complete the inspection.

(c) Owners of vessels that fail the marine inspection may contest the inspection at an arbitration board of three approved inspectors and the original inspector. [L 1976, c 221, §8; am L 1991, c 272, §11; am L 2020, c 70, §16]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 264-36 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 264 / Section 264-36
Conformance with county general or master plans.
Status: in_force

All federal-aid highways shall conform to the general or master plans of the respective political subdivisions of the State unless the conformance jeopardizes the receipt of federal aid, in which case the governor, by executive order, may set aside the general or master plan to the extent any conflict prevents the receipt of federal aid on any given project or the prosecution of the work thereunder.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 269-96 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 269 / Section 269-96
Energy-efficiency portfolio standards.
Status: in_force

(a) The public utilities commission shall establish energy-efficiency portfolio standards that will maximize cost-effective energy-efficiency programs and technologies.

(b) The energy-efficiency portfolio standards shall be designed to achieve four thousand three hundred gigawatt hours of electricity use reductions statewide by 2030 and six thousand gigawatt hours of electricity use reductions statewide by 2045; provided that the public utilities commission shall establish interim goals for electricity use reduction to be achieved by 2015, 2020, 2025, 2035, and 2040, and may also adjust the 2030 and 2045 standards and any interim standards by rule or order to maximize cost-effective energy-efficiency programs and technologies; provided further that the interim goals established by the public utilities commission shall show clear progress toward meeting the State's 2030 and 2045 energy-efficiency portfolio standards.

(c) The public utilities commission may establish, by rule or order, incentives and penalties based on performance in achieving the energy-efficiency portfolio standards.

(d) The public utilities commission shall evaluate the energy-efficiency portfolio standards every five years, beginning in 2013, to determine if the energy-efficiency portfolio standards established by this section remain effective and achievable and may revise the standards, based on the best information available at the time. The public utilities commission shall report its findings and revisions to the energy-efficiency portfolio standards, based on its own studies and other information, to the legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the regular session of 2014, and every five years thereafter.

(e) Beginning in 2015, electric energy savings brought about by the use of renewable displacement or off-set technologies, including solar water heating and sea-water air-conditioning district cooling systems, shall count toward these standards. [L 2009, c 155, pt of §11; am L 2025, c 272, §3]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 263-5 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 263 / Section 263-5
Damage on land.
Status: in_force

The owner of every aircraft which is operated over the lands or waters of the State is presumed liable, except the owner of every aircraft operated for commercial use is absolutely liable, for injuries to persons or property on the land or water beneath caused by the ascent, descent, or flight of the aircraft, or the dropping or falling of any object therefrom, whether the owner was negligent or not, unless the injury is caused in whole or in part by the negligence of the person injured, or of the owner or bailee of the property injured. If the aircraft is leased at the time of the injury to person or property, both owner and lessee shall be liable, and they may be sued jointly, or either or both of them may be sued separately. An aeronaut who is not the owner or lessee shall be liable only for the consequences of the aeronaut's own negligence. The injured person, or owner or bailee of injured property, shall have a lien on the aircraft causing the injury to the extent of the damage caused by the aircraft or objects falling from it.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 266-4.5 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 266 / Section 266-4.5
Disposition of public land; reservation of right of way.
Status: in_force

[§266-4.5 Disposition of public land; reservation of right of way.] Whenever any disposition of public land is made by the department of transportation, under its powers relating to public lands under its jurisdiction, to any persons, organizations, associations, corporations or clubs for recreational or social purposes, such leases, licenses, permits or right-of-entry, or any extensions thereof, covering the disposition of public lands shall contain provisions reserving adequate public right of way or public access to adjacent public areas over and across the public land disposed.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 271G-16 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 271G / Section 271G-16
Rates, fares and charges of common carriers by water.
Status: in_force

(a) It shall be the duty of every water carrier of passengers to provide safe and adequate service, equipment, and facilities for the transportation of passengers and to establish, observe, and enforce just and reasonable rates, fares, and charges, and just and reasonable regulations and practices relating thereto, and to the issuance, form, and substance of tickets, the carrying of personal, sample, and excess baggage, the facilities for transportation, and all other matters relating to or connected with the transportation of passengers.

(b) It shall be the duty of every water carrier of property to provide safe and adequate service, equipment, and facilities for the transportation of property and to establish, observe, and enforce just and reasonable rates, charges, and classifications, and just and reasonable regulations and practices relating thereto, and to the manner and method of presenting, marking, packing, and delivering property for transportation, the facilities for transportation, and all other matters relating to or connected with the transportation of property.

(c) All charges made for any service rendered by any water carrier in the transportation of passengers or property or in connection therewith shall be just and reasonable, and every unjust and unreasonable charge for such service or any part thereof, is prohibited and declared to be unlawful. It shall be unlawful for any water carrier to make, give, or cause any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to any particular person, locality, region, district, island, or description of traffic, in any respect whatsoever; or to subject any particular person, locality, region, district, island, or description of traffic to any unjust discrimination or undue or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage in any respect whatsoever; provided that this subsection shall not be construed to apply to discrimination, prejudice, or disadvantage to the traffic of any other carrier of whatever description.

(d) Any person or body politic may make complaint in writing to the commission that any such rate, fare, charge, rule, regulation, or practice, in effect or proposed to be put into effect, is or will be in violation of this section. Whenever, after hearing, upon complaint or in an investigation on its own initiative, the commission shall be of the opinion that any individual rate, fare, or charge, demand, charged, or collected by any common carrier or carriers by water for transportation, or any rule, regulation, or practice whatsoever of the carrier or carriers affecting such rate, fare, or charge or the value of the service thereunder, is or will be unjust or unreasonable, or unjustly discriminatory or unduly preferential or unduly prejudicial, it shall determine and prescribe the lawful rate, fare, or charge or the maximum or minimum or maximum and minimum rate, fare, or charge thereafter to be observed, or the lawful rule, regulation, or practice thereafter to be made effective.

(e) In the exercise of its power to prescribe just and reasonable rates, fares, and charges for the transportation of passengers or property by water carriers, and to prescribe classifications, regulations, and practices relating thereto, the commission shall give due consideration, among other factors, to the effect of rates upon the movement of traffic by the carrier or carriers for which the rates are prescribed; to the need, in the public interest, of adequate and efficient transportation service by the carriers at the lowest cost consistent with the furnishing of the service; and to the need of revenues sufficient to enable the carriers, under honest, economical, and efficient management, to provide the service.

(f) Nothing in this section shall be held to extinguish any remedy or right of action not inconsistent herewith. [L 1974, c 94, pt of §1]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 266-20 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 266 / Section 266-20
§§266-20 and 266-21 REPEALED.
Status: repealed

§§266-20 and 266-21 REPEALED. L 1991, c 272, §§18, 19.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 275-6 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 275 / Section 275-6
Party line; refusal to yield in emergency.
Status: in_force

Any person who wilfully refuses to immediately relinquish a party line when informed that the line is needed for an emergency call to a fire department or police department or for medical aid or ambulance service, or any person who secures the use of a party line by falsely stating that the line is needed for an emergency call, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 266-3 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 266 / Section 266-3
Rules.
Status: in_force

(a) The director of transportation may adopt rules as necessary:

(1) To regulate the manner in which all vessels may enter and moor, anchor, or dock in the commercial harbors, ports, and roadsteads of the State, or move from one dock, wharf, pier, quay, bulkhead, landing, anchorage, or mooring to another within the commercial harbors, ports, or roadsteads;

(2) For the examination, guidance, and control of harbor masters and their assistants and their conduct while on duty;

(3) For the embarking or disembarking of passengers;

(4) For the expeditious and careful handling of freight, goods, wares, and merchandise of every kind that may be delivered for shipment or discharged on the commercial docks, wharves, piers, quays, bulkheads, or landings belonging to or controlled by the State; and

(5) To define the duties and powers of carriers, shippers, and consignees respecting passengers, freight, goods, wares, and merchandise in and upon the docks, wharves, piers, quays, bulkheads, or landings within the commercial harbors, ports, and roadsteads of the State. The director may also make further rules for the safety of the docks, wharves, piers, quays, bulkheads, and landings on, in, near, or affecting a commercial harbor and waterfront improvements belonging to or controlled by the State.

(b) The director may also adopt, amend, and repeal such rules as are necessary:

(1) For the proper regulation and control of all shipping, traffic, and other related activities in the commercial harbors belonging to or controlled by the State; of the entry, departure, mooring, and berthing of vessels therein; and of all other matters and things connected with such activities;

(2) To establish safety measures and security requirements in or about the commercial harbors, land, and facilities belonging to or controlled by the State;

(3) To prevent the discharge or throwing into commercial harbors of rubbish, refuse, garbage, or other substances likely to affect water quality or that contribute to making such harbors unsightly, unhealthful, or unclean, or that are liable to fill up shoal or shallow waters in, near, or affecting the commercial harbors; and

(4) To prevent the escape of fuel or other oils or substances into the waters in, near, or affecting commercial harbors from any source point, including, but not limited to, any vessel or pipes or storage tanks upon the land.

(c) The rules shall be adopted in the manner prescribed in chapter 91 and shall have the force and effect of law. [L 1911, c 163, §4; am L 1915, c 169, §3; ratified, March 28, 1916, c 54, 39 Stat 39; RL 1925, §836; RL 1935, §1734; RL 1945, §4984; RL 1955, §112-5; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §26; am L 1965, c 96, §84 and c 115, §1; am L 1966, c 44, §§2, 3; HRS §266-3; am L 1978, c 231, §4; am L 1985, c 104, §2; am L 1986, c 57, §2; am L 1991, c 272, §10; am L 2009, c 16, §1; am L 2021, c 230, §1]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 264-15 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 264 / Section 264-15
Highway advance acquisition; source of funds.
Status: in_force

The director may, with the approval of the governor, expend moneys appropriated by the legislature as may be necessary for the acquisition of real property when the director determines:

(1) The acquisition of the real property is necessary for a state highway project authorized by the legislature;

(2) Funds previously authorized by the legislature are inadequate;

(3) That any delay in the acquisition of such property would unnecessarily increase the cost of the highway project; and

(4) The acquisition, management, or maintenance of the real property as necessary for projects relating to climate mitigation and adaptation and visual and noise buffer zones and barriers;

provided that the selected corridor and alignment of the project shall have been approved by the governor.

All moneys received from the rental, sale, or lease of any property acquired under this section shall be paid into the state general fund; provided that whenever federal funds are involved in the acquisition of the property, any money received from the sale, lease, or rental of such property shall be expended toward the project for which the property was acquired. [L 1971, c 132, §2; gen ch 1985; am L 1993, c 280, §54; am L 2024, c 109, §4]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 266-4 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 266 / Section 266-4
Limitation of powers.
Status: in_force

The jurisdiction and powers conferred on the department of transportation are subject to such restrictions as may be imposed by the statutes of the State, and shall be exercised in accordance with the provisions thereof. [March28, 1916, c 54, §4, 39 Stat 41; RL 1925, §837; RL 1935, §1735; RL 1945, §4985; RL 1955, §112-6; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §26; HRS §266-4]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 263-3 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 263 / Section 263-3
Ownership of space.
Status: in_force

The ownership of the space above the lands and waters of the State is declared to be vested in the several owners of the surface beneath, subject to the right of flight described in section 263-4.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 269-102 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 269 / Section 269-102
Standard contract or tariff; rate structure.
Status: reserved

(a) Every electric utility shall develop a standard contract or tariff providing for net energy metering and shall make this contract available to eligible customer-generators, upon request, on a first-come-first-served basis until the time that the total rated generating capacity produced by eligible customer-generators equals .5 per cent of the electric utility's system peak demand; provided that the public utilities commission may modify, by rule or order, the total rated generating capacity produced by eligible customer-generators; provided further that the public utilities commission shall ensure that a percentage of the total rated generating capacity produced by eligible customer-generators shall be reserved for electricity produced by eligible residential or small commercial customer-generators. The public utilities commission may define, by rule or order, the maximum capacity for eligible residential or small commercial customer-generators. Notwithstanding the generating capacity requirements of this subsection, the public utilities commission may evaluate, on an island-by-island basis, the applicability of the generating capacity requirements of this subsection and, in its discretion, may exempt an island or a utility grid system from the generating capacity requirements.

(b) Each net energy metering contract or tariff shall be identical, with respect to rate structure, to the contract or tariff to which the same customer would be assigned if the customer was not an eligible customer-generator. The charges for all retail rate components for eligible customer-generators shall be based exclusively on the eligible customer-generator's net kilowatt-hour consumption over a monthly billing period. Any new or additional demand charge, standby charge, customer charge, minimum monthly charge, interconnection charge, or other charge that would increase an eligible customer-generator's costs beyond those of other customers in the rate class to which the eligible customer-generator would otherwise be assigned are contrary to the intent of this section, and shall not form a part of net energy metering contracts or tariffs.

(c) The public utilities commission may amend the rate structure or standard contract or tariff by rule or order. [L 2001, c 272, pt of §6; am L 2005, c 104, §3; am L 2008, c 150, §2]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 279D-8 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 279D / Section 279D-8
Member financial dues.
Status: in_force

(a) The policy board shall identify the member financial dues necessary to sustain the metropolitan planning organization. The member financial dues shall be provided by interagency agreement with the members.

(b) Member financial dues received by a metropolitan planning organization shall be used to fund the unified planning work program.

(c) A policy board may allocate collective financial resources to fund a unified planning work program. [L 2015, c 132, pt of §1]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 269-27.1 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 269 / Section 269-27.1
Establishment of geothermal energy rates.
Status: in_force

(a) The rate payable by a public utility to the producer of geothermal steam or electricity generated from geothermal steam shall be established by agreement between the public utility and the supplier, subject to approval by the public utilities commission; provided that if the public utility and the supplier fail to reach an agreement for such rate, or if the agreed upon rate is disapproved by the commission, the public utilities commission shall establish a just and reasonable rate for the geothermal steam or electricity generated from geothermal steam supplied to the public utility by the producer.

(b) The producer of geothermal steam or electricity generated from geothermal steam shall be excluded from coverage of the term "public utility" as defined in section 269-1. [L 1978, c 132, §2]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 279D-6 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 279D / Section 279D-6
Metropolitan planning organization policy boards; membership and meetings.
Status: in_force

(a) Policy board membership shall be established by comprehensive agreement, including any applicable supplemental agreements and bylaws; provided that a metropolitan planning organization serving a metropolitan planning area within the jurisdiction of any county with a resident population of more than 125,000 but less than 195,000 shall include as members of its policy board:

(1) At least one member that shall be a resident of the applicable metropolitan planning area and a member of the senate appointed by the president of the senate; and

(2) At least one member that shall be a resident of the applicable metropolitan area and a member of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.

(b) As appropriate, any agreement or committee bylaws that establish policy board membership may also include specifications regarding ex officio membership, terms and term limits of members, member alternates, quorum, and other considerations as permitted by law. [L 2015, c 132, pt of §1; am L 2018, c 72, §2]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 271G-9 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 271G / Section 271G-9
Copies of schedules, tariffs, contracts, etc.
Status: in_force

[§271G-9] Copies of schedules, tariffs, contracts, etc., kept as public records; evidence. The copies of schedules and classifications and tariffs or rates, fares, and charges, and all contracts, agreements and arrangements between water carriers filed with the public utilities commission as herein provided, and any reports filed with the commission as required under this chapter shall be preserved as public records.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 269-27.3 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 269 / Section 269-27.3
Preferential renewable energy rates; agricultural activities.
Status: in_force

[(a)] It is the policy of the State to promote the long-term viability of agriculture by establishing mechanisms that provide for preferential rates for the purchase of renewable energy produced in conjunction with agricultural activities. The public utilities commission shall have the authority to establish preferential rates for the purchase of renewable energy produced in conjunction with agricultural activities.

[(b)] Upon receipt of a bona fide request for preferential rates for the purchase of renewable energy produced in conjunction with agricultural activities, and proof that the renewable energy is produced in conjunction with agricultural activities, a public utility shall forward the request for preferential rates to the public utilities commission for approval. [L 2009, c 185, §2]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 271-8 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 271 / Section 271-8
Certificate or permit required.
Status: in_force

Except as provided in section 271-5, no person shall engage in the transportation of persons or property, for compensation or hire, by motor vehicle, over any public highway of this State unless there is in force with respect to the person a certificate or permit issued by the public utilities commission authorizing the transportation.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 269-33 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 269 / Section 269-33
Public utilities commission special fund.
Status: in_force

(a) There is established in the state treasury a public utilities commission special fund to be administered by the public utilities commission. The proceeds of the fund shall be used by the public utilities commission and the division of consumer advocacy of the department of commerce and consumer affairs for all expenses incurred in the administration of chapters 269, 271, 271G, 269E, and 486J, and for costs incurred by the department of commerce and consumer affairs to fulfill the department's limited oversight and administrative support functions; provided that the expenditures of the public utilities commission shall be in accordance with legislative appropriations. On a quarterly basis, an amount not exceeding thirty per cent of the proceeds remaining in the fund after the deduction for central service expenses, pursuant to section 36-27, shall be allocated by the public utilities commission to the division of consumer advocacy and deposited in the compliance resolution fund established pursuant to section 26-9(o); provided that all moneys allocated by the public utilities commission from the fund to the division of consumer advocacy shall be in accordance with legislative appropriations.

(b) All moneys appropriated to, received, and collected by the public utilities commission that are not otherwise pledged, obligated, or required by law to be placed in any other special fund or expended for any other purpose shall be deposited into the public utilities commission special fund including, but not limited to, all moneys received and collected by the public utilities commission pursuant to sections 92-21, 243-3.5, 269-28, 269-30, 271-27, 271-36, 271G-19, 269E-6, 269E-14, and 607-5.

(c) The public utilities commission shall submit an update as part of its annual report submitted pursuant to section 269-5 detailing all funds received and all moneys disbursed out of the fund.

(d) All moneys in excess of $1,000,000 remaining on balance in the public utilities commission special fund on June 30 of each year shall lapse to the credit of the state general fund; provided that this ceiling shall not apply to the subaccount established in subsections (e) and (f).

(e) There is established within the public utilities commission special fund an electric vehicle charging system subaccount. The public utilities commission shall expend moneys in the subaccount for the purposes of funding the electric vehicle charging system rebate program established pursuant to sections 269-72 and 269-73. The funds in this subaccount shall not be subject to the special fund ceiling in subsection (d).

(f) There is established within the public utilities commission special fund a hydrogen fueling system subaccount. The public utilities commission shall expend moneys in the subaccount for the purposes of funding the zero-emission vehicle fueling system rebate program established pursuant to section 269-74. The funds in this subaccount shall not be subject to the special fund ceiling in subsection (d). [L 1994, c 226, §1; am L 1998, c 11, §17; am L 1999, c 129, §6; am L 2004, c 141, §§3, 7; am L 2005, c 22, §51; am L 2009, c 72, §3; am L 2013, c 24, §2; am L 2014, c 108, §7; am L 2021, c 75, §3; am L 2022, c 241, §3]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 268-13 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 268 / Section 268-13
Claim for damages; filing and contents; time limitations.
Status: in_force

As a condition to a recovery thereon, a verified claim against the department of transportation growing out of damages, loss, injuries, or death must first be presented to the department and filed with its director within thirty days after the time when the claim accrued. If the claimant shall be incapacitated from verifying and filing the claimant's claim within the thirty days, then the claim may be verified and presented on behalf of the claimant by the claimant's relative, attorney, or agent. If the claimant is a minor or incompetent person, the claim may be verified and filed by the claimant's guardian or next friend. Each claim must accurately locate and describe the event or defect that caused the damage, loss, injury, or death, reasonably describe the damage, loss, or injury, and state the time when the same occurred, give the claimant's residence for six months last past, and contain the items of damages claimed. No action shall be maintained against the department upon the claim until the same has been presented to, and filed with, the department and sixty days have elapsed after the presentation and filing, nor more than two years after the claim accrued.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 269-16.5 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 269 / Section 269-16.5
Lifeline telephone rates.
Status: in_force

(a) The public utilities commission shall implement a program to achieve lifeline telephone rates for residential telephone users.

(b) "Lifeline telephone rate" means a discounted rate for residential telephone users identified as elders with limited income and the handicapped with limited income as designated by the commission.

(c) The commission shall require every telephone public utility providing local telephone service to file a schedule of rates and charges providing a rate for lifeline telephone subscribers.

(d) Nothing in this section shall preclude the commission from changing any rate established pursuant to subsection (a) either specifically or pursuant to any general restructuring of all telephone rates, charges, and classifications. [L 1986, c 116, §3; am L 1990, c 67, §8]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 261E-6 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 261E / Section 261E-6
General powers and duties.
Status: in_force

The air carrier commission shall have general supervision over all Hawaii air carriers providing air transportation and, to the extent determined by the commission to be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this chapter, over any related company, and shall perform the duties and exercise the powers imposed or conferred upon it by this chapter. The general powers of the commission shall include:

(1) Regulating Hawaii air carriers by using, in addition to its other powers, the investigative powers set forth in section 261E-7;

(2) Establishing reasonable classifications of Hawaii air carriers based upon the nature of the services provided by the carriers and adopting rules pursuant to chapter 91 to regulate those classes of Hawaii air carriers; and

(3) Exempting from this chapter, in whole or in part, when determined to be in the public interest, any Hawaii air carrier engaging in air transportation solely with aircraft with a maximum seating capacity of not more than seventeen passengers or maximum cargo capacity of not more than three thousand pounds. [L Sp 2008, c 1, pt of §2]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 261D-2 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 261D / Section 261D-2
Disposition of the transportation use special fund.
Status: in_force

[Effect and application. L 1989, c 309, §10.] For so long as airport revenue bonds issued before June13, 1989, are outstanding, the director of transportation shall transfer to the airport revenue fund created by section 248-8 from moneys credited to the transportation use special fund, as permitted by and in accordance with section 37-53, an amount which, together with moneys on deposit in the airport revenue fund other than moneys on credit to the transportation use special fund therein, will cause the aggregate amount of moneys on deposit in the airport revenue fund other than moneys on credit to the transportation [use] special fund therein, to be at least one hundred fifty per cent of the requirements of such fund for the ensuing twelve months determined as prescribed by rules adopted pursuant to chapter 91. At any time after complying with the provisions of the preceding sentence or after no airport revenue bonds issued before June13, 1989, are outstanding, the director of transportation may transfer all or any portion of the balance of the moneys credited to the transportation use special fund to the general fund of the State or to any special fund under the control of the department of transportation as permitted by and in accordance with section 37-53.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 264-16 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 264 / Section 264-16
State highway clearing accounts.
Status: in_force

The director of transportation may with the prior approval of the director of finance and comptroller establish the state highway payroll clearing account, employee benefits clearing account, construction administration clearing trust account, and any other necessary clearing account or clearing trust account to effectively account for program costs and appropriations.

The director of transportation may, from time to time, make advances to the clearing accounts or clearing trust accounts from the state highway fund or from any moneys appropriated or otherwise made available to the department. The advances shall be in such amounts as may be required to meet the obligations of the department which are authorized by the legislature.

As soon as practicable after an expenditure from a clearing account or clearing trust account, a determination shall be made of the proper fund or appropriation to which the expenditure should be charged. The fund or account from which funds are advanced shall thereupon be reimbursed out of the proper fund or appropriation. [L 1979, c 166, §1; am L Sp 2021, c 9, §60]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 271-31 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 271 / Section 271-31
Hearings.
Status: in_force

(a) All hearings, investigations, and proceedings shall be governed by this section and by rules of practice and procedure adopted by the public utilities commission, and in the conduct thereof, the technical rules of evidence need not be applied. No informality in any hearing, investigation, or proceeding, or in the manner of taking testimony shall invalidate any order, decision or rule made, approved, or confirmed by the commission.

(b) Complaints may be made in writing, on paper or electronically, by the commission on its own motion or by any person or body politic, setting forth any act or thing done, or omitted to be done, by any motor carrier, including any rule, rate, or charge heretofore established or fixed by or for any motor carrier, in violation or claimed to be in violation, of any law or of any order or rule of the commission.

(c) All matters upon which complaint may be founded may be joined in one hearing, and no motion shall be entertained against a complaint for misjoinder of causes of action or grievances or misjoinder or nonjoinder of parties. In any review by the courts of orders or decisions of the commission the same rule shall apply with regard to the joinder of causes and parties as herein provided. The commission shall not be required to dismiss any complaint because of the absence of direct damage to the complainant.

(d) Upon the filing of a complaint, the commission shall cause a copy thereof to be served upon the person or motor carrier complained of. Service in all hearings, investigations, and proceedings pending before the commission may be made upon any person upon whom a summons may be served in any proceeding before the courts of this State, and may be made personally or by mailing in a sealed envelope, registered or certified, with postage prepaid. The commission shall fix the time when and place where a hearing will be had upon the complaint and shall serve notice thereof, not less than ten days before the time set for the hearing, unless the commission finds that public necessity requires that the hearing be held at an earlier date.

(e) At the time fixed for any hearing before the commission or the time to which the hearing has been continued, the complainant and the person complained of, and such persons as the commission allows to intervene, shall be entitled to be heard and to introduce evidence. The commission shall issue process to enforce the attendance of all necessary witnesses. After the conclusion of the hearing, the commission shall make and file its order, containing its decision which shall be based on findings of fact and conclusions of law therein stated. A copy of each order, certified under the seal of the commission, shall be served upon the person complained of, or the person's attorney. The order shall, of its own force, take effect and become operative twenty days after the service thereof, except as otherwise provided, and shall continue in force either for a period designated in it or until changed or abrogated by the commission. If the commission believes that an order cannot be complied with within twenty days, it may prescribe such additional time as in its judgment is reasonably necessary to comply with the order, and may on application and for good cause shown, extend the time for compliance fixed in its order.

(f) A complete record of all proceedings and testimony before the commission on any formal hearing shall be taken down by a reporter appointed by the commission, and the parties shall be entitled to be heard in person or by attorney. In case of an action to review an order or decision of the commission, a transcript of the testimony, together with all exhibits or copies thereof introduced, and of the pleadings, records, and proceedings in the cause, shall constitute the record of the commission, but the party or parties to the proceeding and the commission may stipulate that designated parts of the record need not be transmitted to the appellate court, as provided by the rules of the court.

(g) Any motor carrier may complain on any of the grounds upon which complaints are allowed to be filed by other parties, and the same procedure shall be adopted and followed as in other cases, except that the complaint may be heard ex parte by the commission or may be served upon any party designated by the commission.

(h) The commission may at any time upon notice to the motor carrier affected, and after opportunity to be heard as provided in the case of complaints, rescind, alter, or amend any order or decision made by it. Any order rescinding, altering, or amending a prior order or decision shall, when served upon the motor carrier affected, have the same effect as an original order or decision.

(i) In all collateral actions or proceedings, the orders and decisions of the commission which have become final shall be conclusive. [L 1961, c 121, pt of §2; Supp, §106C-29; HRS §271-31; am L 1973, c 149, §2(c); am L 1979, c 111, §12; gen ch 1985; am L 2021, c 72, §10]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 269-16.2 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 269 / Section 269-16.2
Approval of rules of a public utility.
Status: in_force

Any rules, guidelines, or other standards of a public utility which interpret federal or state laws governing nonutility generators, or which make a nonutility generator monetarily responsible for the public utility's costs and profits of doing business as a public utility, shall be approved by the public utilities commission before adoption. As used in this section, a "nonutility generator" means a person that produces electric power but is not a public utility.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 273-7 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 273 / Section 273-7
Offered to adjoining owners first.
Status: in_force

Before the corporation disposes of any superfluous lands, it shall, unless the lands are situated within a town, or are lands built upon, or used for building purposes, first offer to sell the same to the person then entitled to the lands (if any) from which the same were originally severed; or if the person refuses to purchase the same, or cannot, after diligent inquiry, be found, then the like offer shall be made to the person, or to the several persons whose lands immediately adjoin the lands so proposed to be sold, such persons being capable of entering into a contract for the purchase of the lands; and when more than one person is entitled to the right of preemption, the offer shall be made to these persons in succession, one after another, in such order as the corporation shall think fit.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 269-19 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 269 / Section 269-19
Merger and consolidation of public utilities.
Status: in_force

(a) No public utility shall sell, lease, assign, mortgage, or otherwise dispose of or encumber the whole or any part of its road, line, plant, system, or other property necessary or useful in the performance of its duties to the public, or any franchise or permit, or any right thereunder, nor by any means, directly or indirectly, merge or consolidate with any other public utility without first having secured from the public utilities commission an order authorizing it so to do, unless:

(1) The sale, lease, assignment, mortgage, disposition, encumbrance, merger, or consolidation is done in accordance with subsection (b);

(2) The public utility is disposing a fully depreciated asset or property with a zero net book value; provided that the disposal:

(A) Is made to an unaffiliated entity; and

(B) Results in a zero or net reduction to the public utility's rate base; or

(3) The public utility is donating a fully depreciated asset or property with zero net book value to a charitable or nonprofit organization.

Every sale, lease, assignment, mortgage, disposition, encumbrance, merger, or consolidation that requires authorization from the public utilities commission under this subsection and is made other than in accordance with the order of the commission shall be void.

(b) A public utility, under circumstances that it deems exigent and in its judgment require a response that rapidly restores one of its customers to normal, or near normal, operating status in order to prevent serious disruption of essential public services, or avoid serious risk to public safety, or to mitigate severe economic losses to that customer, may transfer, assign, or otherwise dispose of its property without prior approval from the public utilities commission as required in subsection (a); provided that in so doing:

(1) The public utility does not unduly hinder or degrade the public utility's operation with respect to its services or other customers;

(2) The public utility is duly compensated for its property; and

(3) The public utility reports in detail to the public utilities commission within thirty days of any such action unless otherwise approved by the public utilities commission for good cause shown.

For purposes of this subsection, "property" does not include real property. [L 1933, c 169, pt of §4; RL 1935, §7957; RL 1945, §4718; RL 1955, §104-18; HRS §269-19; am L 2008, c 7, §2; am L 2023, c 178, §1]
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 266-15 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 266 / Section 266-15
REPEALED.
Status: in_force

L 1971, c 12, pt of §1.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 264-73 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 264 / Section 264-73
Regulations.
Status: in_force

The director of transportation may promulgate rules and regulations governing the erection and maintenance of outdoor advertising permitted under section 264-72, consistent with the safety and welfare of the traveling public and with the national standards promulgated by the Secretary of Transportation pursuant to Title 23, United States Code.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 264-76 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 264 / Section 264-76
Unlawful outdoor advertising.
Status: in_force

Any outdoor advertising which violates this part is a public nuisance.
Haw. Rev. Stat. § 266-7 — HI Code / Division 1 / Title 15 / Chapter 266 / Section 266-7
Department; duties.
Status: in_force

The department of transportation shall collect all moneys, fees, and dues paid to the State for wharfage, demurrage, and all other fees or compensation in respect to the entry, anchorage, and wharfage of all vessels and other craft entering into the ports of the State, and shall account for the same to the State as hereinafter provided. The department shall keep a full and complete record of the official acts of the department.