HONOLULU — Unless the legislation undergoes further amendments when it goes before the full Hawai‘i House of Representatives, a proposal to create a state-run interisland ferry system has been effectively tabled.
“To encourage further discussion,” the Finance Committee last week unanimously voted to amend House Bill 1239, changing its effective date from next year to July 1, 2030.
HB1239 would establish and fund a state ferry system to transport passengers and cargo between the Hawaiian Islands. The legislation, which does not include a dollar figure for the appropriation, also created a path to potentially buy a high-speed catamaran from the now-defunct Hawai‘i Superferry.
Rep. Dee Morikawa, D-16th District, said she has some concerns over the proposal.
“I am not on the committee that originally heard the testimony for this bill, so when it came to Finance, I respected the decision made by the committee to support it,” she said. “However, I do feel that Kaua‘i is not ready to accept the ferry yet and I did comment to that. The islands of Maui and Hawai‘i are probably in need of this service for transporting agricultural goods in a more feasible and timely way.”
Morikawa, a first-term Westside representative who defeated incumbent Roland Sagum in the election last November, said she also worries about an interisland ferry’s environmental impacts.
“I did express my concern about invasive species being introduced to Kaua‘i by this method of transportation and would hope that these issues are studied and researched thoroughly before a ferry system begins again,” she said.
Rep. Jimmy Tokioka, D-15th District, also serves on the Finance Committee. He too voted in favor of the bill’s passage as amended. Messages seeking comment were not returned by press time Sunday.
State agencies who testified on the bill were split.
The Budget and Finance Department opposed the legislation before it was amended due to the state’s current fiscal condition. Hawai‘i is facing a more than $700 million budget shorftfall over the next two fiscal years.
The Department of Transportation supported the bill with reservations. The DOT — the agency that exempted the Superferry from an environmental assessment before it started operating in 2007 — testified in support of a statewide ferry transportation system, “but only if it were done through the United States military or a private public partnership.”
The Hawai‘i Farm Bureau Federation and Maui County Farm Bureau have testified in support of the bill, and concerned citizens have offered cautionary tales.
The House Transportation Committee, the only other committee to which the legislation was referred, heard the bill in February. It recommended HB1239 be passed without amendments.
“Hawaii’s highway system is its waterways, mainly for the transport of cargo via barge, and its skies, mainly for passenger transport via two major interisland airlines and several smaller commuter operations. Establishing an alternative form of transportation between islands, particularly a ferry system capable of carrying passengers, cargo, and automobiles, would fill a missing link in the transport of persons and property between the islands of the State,” Chair Joseph Souki, D-8th District, said in his Transportation Committee report to the Legislature.
“However, your Committee notes the concerns raised that establishing such a ferry system, particularly one operated by the State, may be premature especially in light of the recent foray of a private entity into the establishment of a high-speed interisland passenger, automobile, and cargo ferry operation in Hawaii and that the costs of establishing such a system are unknown,” Souki said in the committee report.
“Nevertheless, your Committee finds that this measure deserves further consideration.”
HB1239’s companion legislation, Senate Bill 1127, was referred to committees in January but no hearings were scheduled.
Visit www.capitol.hawaii.gov for more information.
• Nathan Eagle, managing editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 2247) or neagle@kauaipubco.com.
