Hawaii 2023 Regular Session

Hawaii Senate Bill SR128 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	THE SENATE S.R. NO. 128 THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023 STATE OF HAWAII SENATE RESOLUTION urging the department of transportation to establish a working group to evaluate options that provide additional air service to remote and underserved communities across the state.
2	2
3	3	THE SENATE S.R. NO. 128
4	4	THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023
5	5	STATE OF HAWAII
6	6
7	7	THE SENATE
8	8
9	9	S.R. NO.
10	10
11	11	128
12	12
13	13	THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023
14	14
15	15
16	16
17	17	STATE OF HAWAII
18	18
19	19
20	20
21	21
22	22
23	23
24	24
25	25
26	26
27	27
28	28
29	29	SENATE RESOLUTION
30	30
31	31
32	32
33	33
34	34
35	35	urging the department of transportation to establish a working group to evaluate options that provide additional air service to remote and underserved communities across the state.
36	36
37	37
38	38
39	39
40	40
41	41	WHEREAS, as an island state, Hawaii is reliant upon air travel to ensure residents and tourists have timely transportation options to navigate between islands; and WHEREAS, since January 2021, only one passenger airline has provided service to the general public out of Molokai Airport; and WHEREAS, while the airline does their best to accommodate the needs of passengers, including additional routes, flight times, and ordering larger planes, the cost of plane tickets remains a burden to many Molokai residents who need to travel for essential reasons, including work, medical appointments, and family; and WHEREAS, in addition to costly ticket prices and limited flights, there are significant flight delays and cancellations that have caused undue burden on Molokai residents; and WHEREAS, presently, airlines and air travel are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration; and WHEREAS, the lack of consistent, available flights between rural communities and major hubs such as Honolulu pose a health and safety issue; and WHEREAS, the collaboration of federal, state, and county agencies is needed to ensure residents who live in rural or underserved communities have greater access to air travel options for essential reasons; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2023, that the Department of Transportation is urged to establish a working group to evaluate options that provide additional air service to remote and underserved communities across the State; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to evaluate options, including: (1) An airline subsidy to offset the cost of passenger tickets; and (2) Encouragement of other airlines to provide service at rural airports, including Molokai Airport; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to consist of the following members: (1) The Manager of the Federal Aviation Administration Honolulu Airports District Office; (2) The Deputy Director for Transportation Airports, or their designee; (3) The Chairperson of the Public Utilities Commission, or their designee; (4) A representative from each county transportation department; and (5) Any additional members whose expertise may be relevant and as recommended by the working group; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2024; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to be dissolved on June 30, 2024; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Manager of the Federal Aviation Administration Honolulu Airports District Office, Director of Transportation, Deputy Director for Airports, Chairperson of the Public Utilities Commission, and director of each county transportation department. OFFERED BY: _____________________________ Report Title: Department of Transportation; Air Service; Rural and Underserved Communities; Working Group
42	42
43	43	WHEREAS, as an island state, Hawaii is reliant upon air travel to ensure residents and tourists have timely transportation options to navigate between islands; and
44	44
45	45
46	46
47	47	WHEREAS, since January 2021, only one passenger airline has provided service to the general public out of Molokai Airport; and
48	48
49	49
50	50
51	51	WHEREAS, while the airline does their best to accommodate the needs of passengers, including additional routes, flight times, and ordering larger planes, the cost of plane tickets remains a burden to many Molokai residents who need to travel for essential reasons, including work, medical appointments, and family; and
52	52
53	53
54	54
55	55	WHEREAS, in addition to costly ticket prices and limited flights, there are significant flight delays and cancellations that have caused undue burden on Molokai residents; and
56	56
57	57
58	58
59	59	WHEREAS, presently, airlines and air travel are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration; and
60	60
61	61
62	62
63	63	WHEREAS, the lack of consistent, available flights between rural communities and major hubs such as Honolulu pose a health and safety issue; and
64	64
65	65
66	66
67	67	WHEREAS, the collaboration of federal, state, and county agencies is needed to ensure residents who live in rural or underserved communities have greater access to air travel options for essential reasons; now, therefore,
68	68
69	69
70	70
71	71	BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2023, that the Department of Transportation is urged to establish a working group to evaluate options that provide additional air service to remote and underserved communities across the State; and
72	72
73	73
74	74
75	75	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to evaluate options, including:
76	76
77	77
78	78
79	79	(1) An airline subsidy to offset the cost of passenger tickets; and
80	80
81	81
82	82
83	83	(2) Encouragement of other airlines to provide service at rural airports, including Molokai Airport; and
84	84
85	85
86	86
87	87	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to consist of the following members:
88	88
89	89
90	90
91	91	(1) The Manager of the Federal Aviation Administration Honolulu Airports District Office;
92	92
93	93
94	94
95	95	(2) The Deputy Director for Transportation Airports, or their designee;
96	96
97	97
98	98
99	99	(3) The Chairperson of the Public Utilities Commission, or their designee;
100	100
101	101
102	102
103	103	(4) A representative from each county transportation department; and
104	104
105	105
106	106
107	107	(5) Any additional members whose expertise may be relevant and as recommended by the working group; and
108	108
109	109
110	110
111	111	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2024; and
112	112
113	113
114	114
115	115	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to be dissolved on June 30, 2024; and
116	116
117	117
118	118
119	119	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Manager of the Federal Aviation Administration Honolulu Airports District Office, Director of Transportation, Deputy Director for Airports, Chairperson of the Public Utilities Commission, and director of each county transportation department.
120	120
121	121
122	122
123	123
124	124
125	125
126	126
127	127	OFFERED BY: _____________________________
128	128
129	129
130	130
131	131	OFFERED BY:
132	132
133	133	_____________________________
134	134
135	135
136	136
137	137
138	138
139	139	Report Title:
140	140
141	141	Department of Transportation; Air Service; Rural and Underserved Communities; Working Group