Opinion ID: 2515085
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Act 2's maximum viability of twenty-one months realistically limited the benefits of Act 2 to Superferry.

Text: Section 18 of Act 2 provides, in relevant part: This Act shall take effect upon its approval; provided that this Act shall be repealed on the earlier of: (1) The forty-fifth day, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, following adjournment sine die of the regular session of 2009; or (2) Upon acceptance of the final environmental impact statement as provided in this Act[.] Act 2, ง 18 at 20. Article III, section 10 of the Hawai'i Constitution provides, in relevant part: The legislature shall convene annually in regular session at 10:00 o'clock a.m. on the third Wednesday in January. . . . Regular sessions shall be limited to a period of sixty days. . . . Any session may be extended a total of not more than fifteen days. . . . Each regular session shall be recessed for not less than five days at some period between the twentieth and fortieth days of the regular session. . . . Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, the days in mandatory recess and any days in recess pursuant to a concurrent resolution shall be excluded in computing the number of days of any session. Haw. Const, art. Ill, ง 10. The third Wednesday in January 2009 is January 21st. The regular session of 2009 must end within seventy-five days (excluding at least five mandatory recess days, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays). Accordingly, sine die of the 2009 regular session will occur in approximately mid-May. Forty-five days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) following adjournment sine die will occur no later than the end of July. Thus, by its own language Act 2 will be repealed no later than July 31, 2009. Act 2 was enacted on November 2, 2007, and it will be repealed upon acceptance of the final environmental impact statement as provided in Act 2, or July 31, 2009, whichever occurs earlier. Consequently, Act 2 is viable for a maximum of twenty-one months. Any new company seeking to qualify under Act 2 would have to build or acquire a vessel that transports, is designed to transport, or is intended to transport per voyage at least five hundred passengers, two hundred motor vehicles, and cargo between the islands of the state. Act 2, ง 2 at 7. This new company would only be granted the right to operate and utilize State harbor improvements and facilities under Act 2 if it did so pursuant to and subject to agreements and contracts with State entities relating to the operation of a large capacity ferry vessel and the use of state harbor facilities. Act 2, ง 3(1) at 8. The company would also have to comply with all laws of general applicability, except as otherwise provided in this Act. Act 2, ง 5 at 10. Accordingly, any potential new class member under Act 2 would have no more than twenty-one months to build or acquire a qualifying vessel, enter into a qualifying agreement or contract with the State, and comply with all relevant federal and State requirements for operating a passenger service over water before it could attempt to benefit from Act 2. As discussed further below, Act 2's limited viability period of a maximum of twenty-one months effectively limited its benefits to Superferry, as no other large capacity ferry vessel company could realistically enter the market and compete with Superferry during this abbreviated time frame.