2023 Hawaii Revised Statutes › Title 4. State Organization and Administration, Generally › 27. State Functions and Responsibilities › 27-45 Broadband-related permits; automatic approval.

§27-45 Broadband-related permits; automatic approval.
(a) The State shall approve, approve with modification, or disapprove all applications for broadband-related permits within sixty days of submission of a complete permit application and full payment of any applicable fee; provided that this subsection shall not apply to a conservation district use application for broadband facilities. If, on the sixty-first day, an application is not approved, approved with modification, or disapproved by the State, the application shall be deemed approved by the State.
(b) The State shall approve, approve with modification, or disapprove use applications for broadband facilities within the conservation district within one hundred forty-five days of submission of a complete application and full payment of any applicable fee. If, on the one hundred forty-sixth day, an application is not approved, approved with modification, or disapproved by the State, the application shall be deemed approved by the State.
(c) Permits issued pursuant to this section shall contain the following language: "This is a broadband-related permit issued pursuant to section 27-45, Hawaii Revised Statutes."
(d) An applicant and a public utility shall comply with all applicable safety and engineering requirements relating to the installation, improvement, construction, or development of infrastructure relating to broadband service or broadband technology.
(e) No action shall be prosecuted or maintained against the State, its officials, or employees on account of actions taken in reviewing, approving, modifying, or disapproving a permit application pursuant to this section, or against public utilities resulting from such actions.
(f) The sixty day time period established by subsection (a) shall be extended in the event of a natural disaster, state emergency, or union strike that prevents the applicant, agency, or department from fulfilling application review requirements.
(g) If an application is incomplete, the State shall notify the applicant in writing within ten business days of submittal of the application. The notice shall inform the applicant of the specific requirements necessary to complete the application. The sixty-first day automatic approval provisions under subsection (a) shall continue to apply to the application only if the applicant satisfies the specific requirements of the notice and submits a complete application within five business days of receipt of the notice.
(h) Nothing in this section shall affect the provisions of section 3 of Act 151, Session Laws of Hawaii 2011.
(i) For the purposes of this section, "broadband-related permits" means all state permits required to commence actions with respect to the installation, improvement, construction, or development of infrastructure relating to broadband service or broadband technology, including the interconnection of telecommunications cables, cable installation, tower construction, placement of broadband equipment in the road rights-of-way, and undersea boring, or the landing of an undersea communications cable. The term does not include any state permit for which the approval of a federal agency is explicitly required pursuant to federal law, rule, or regulation, prior to granting final permit approval by the State. [L 2013, c 264, § §1, 5; am L 2016, c 193, §2]
Note
Comprehensive system for asset management of public buildings, facilities, and sites. L 2011, c 54; L 2013, c 110.
Section 3 of Act 151, Session Laws of Hawaii 2011, referred to in subsection (h), was amended by section 3 of Act 264, Session Laws of Hawaii 2013.