Senate Standing Committee on Transportation and Culture and the Arts

Good afternoon. We're convening the Committee on Transportation, Culture and the arts on our 3:20 p.m. agenda here in State Capital Conference Room 224. We have a number of resolutions up on the agenda this afternoon. So we just ask folks to make sure you have your testimony submitted.

And if not, we'll be asking folks to limit testimony to one minute to make sure that we have enough time to get through everybody. And that being said, up first is Senate Concurrent. And we're going to take. Sorry, for the record, we have multiple resolutions on the same topic.

Senate Concurrent Resolution and a Senate resolution of different numbers. We'll take them both at the same time since the substance is identical. So up first is Senate Concurrent Resolution 131 and Senate Resolution 110 urging the state to acquire the Hawaii Theater. Testifying first signed up to testify first is Gregory Dunn from Hawaii Theater Center. Good afternoon.

Aloha Chair Members of the Committee, I'm Gregory Dunn, President and CEO of the Hawaii Theatre Center. We are in support of the this measure. I stand on my written testimony. I'm here and available to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you. That's everyone who had signed up to testify. Is there anyone else wishing to testify on these two resolutions? Seeing none. Are there any questions? Question for Mr. Dunn.

Hi, Mr. Dunn, thank you. Thank you for your testimony. That sent. Do you know if in this year's budget there's funding for acquisition in our state budget this year?

I'm not aware of funding being placed in the budget this year for acquisition. We have met with both the House and Senate and have have talked about it. This was the vehicle that was was put forward by our representative and Senator for us to start the process.

Okay, great. Thank you.

Any further questions? Seeing none. Thanks everybody. Let's move on to the next set of resolutions. Senate Concurrent Resolution 169 and Senate Resolution 138 requesting the state archives to expand public outreach, share Hawaii's history and may be relevant, create opportunities for public discussion and civic engagement and evaluate funding opportunities to support its mission.

And testifying first is the Department of Accounting and General Services. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Chair Members of the Committee on Behalf of Comptroller Keith Regan, I am Dr. Adam Jansen and I am your state archivist. We stand on our written testimony in strong support of this. And as an archivist, I think you all know that we are history nerds.

We are very passionate about sharing Hawaii's history and we think we have a unique opportunity here to share the voices of the past so that we can help inform the future. There is an absolute need for increasing an understanding of civics, and we have a very unique opportunity using primary source documents to be able to do that.

So we thank you for this opportunity. We look forward to it. We love the teaching aspect and we would love to do more of it. So if you have any questions, I am very happy to answer them. Thank you.

Thank you very much. That's everyone who had signed up to 10. Oh, I'm sorry. No, we have one more online. Melissa Terada. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon. Aloha Chair. I'm Members of the Committee. My name is Melissa Terada, and I'm a Master's of Social Works student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I want to let you know the views I express are my alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the University.

I want to thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of Senate Resolution 138. As someone who has lived in Hawaii for 19 years, I recognize the importance of preserving and uplifting the island's history. The state archives holds priceless records about Hawaii's histories, government and much more. These documents tell the story of Hawaii.

However, these records are difficult to access. If we want to engage and inform public, we must make sure that our histories are not only preserved, but actively shared with the community. That's why I support this resolution. I also believe it could be strengthened.

So I asked the Committee to consider the following, which is one, to incorporate into the outreach and also to ensure Native individuals and communities are closely working with the archives. Once again, thank you for this opportunity to testify, and I respectfully urge you to support this resolution. Mahalo.

Thank you very much. That's everyone who had signed up to testify on SCR 169 and SR 138. Is there anyone else wishing to testify on these measures this afternoon? I'm seeing none. Are there any questions? All right. Seeing none. Thank you. Let's move on to the next measure, SCR150. Oh, I'm sorry. Excuse me.

SCR12 and SR8 recognizing International Dark Sky Week and testifying first. Is DLNR online. Also have Michael Marlin signed up online.

Yes, I'm here.

Good afternoon.

Yes, good afternoon. Thank you for this opportunity. I want to state that I provided some written testimony. There was a time when we didn't protect the oceans, and we saw the consequences of that. Now there are laws in place to protect the oceans and all the marine life there.

I'm sure you were aware of the impact of light pollution on the Hawaiian birds, the petrol, and the shearwater, whose numbers have dropped dramatically because of the disorientation created by light. I'm a longtime resident of Lower Kalapana, and I am now seeing the sky glow created from Pahoa lights that wasn't there just five to seven years ago.

I also have no recourse against light trespass. My neighbor can shine their light into my house, which they do, and there's nothing I can do about it.

So by supporting this proclamation recognizing Dark Sky Week, this is the first step towards Hawaii taking further actions to protect the night skies and moderate light pollution and the use of outdoor lighting. Thank you for this opportunity to testify.

Thank you very much. Up next, we also have online Roger Kintz.

Not available on Zoom Chair.

Thank you. That's everyone who had signed up to testify on SCR 12 and SR 8. Is there anyone else wishing to testify in these measures? All right, thank you. Seeing none. Are there any questions? I have just one. Mr. Marlin. Yes.

Presumably on the Big island, the UH Institute for Astronomy and the Mauna Kea telescopes and a number of others. I guess it'd be Imiloa Observatory. Yes. Astronomy Center. Do a lot of work in this space, I would guess. Is that right?

Yes. And let me address. I know where you're going with this. The county has to comply with their lighting, which is amber, which is a lower Kelvin light, to support the astronomical industry on Mauna Kea. However, there are no ordinances or any kind of stipulation in place for business or residents, and they can light however they want.

It's not about no light. It's about changing the Kelvin temperature. It's the blue, rich white light that's causing all of the difficulty. So, as I said, you can see the sky glow created in Pahoa down in Lower Kalapana now. And at some point, this kind of light is going to impact the astronomical institutions.

And they have all kinds of filters that they're able to put on their telescopes for their observation. What does not get addressed is how light pollution is impacting night pollinators, migratory birds, marine life, and human health. I'm sure all of you in this room have faced the.

Have faced the new headlights that are on cars right now, these intensely bright white lights, and it causes momentary blindness. I gave my testimony to the county council at great length a couple of years ago, and they all agreed that this is an issue.

And again, addressing the astronomical needs doesn't really address the needs of the people who are just living on the ground. And not on a mountaintop. I think we all deserve the right to darkness and that we should be able to prevent light trespass into our yard and to protect the night sky for future generations. Thank you.

Let me just ask one follow up, which is outside of the astronomy space, at least on the Big island, where I don't have as much experience. I know some of our colleagues do. But is there a lead agency or somebody that seems obvious to help kind of handle that conversation or lead that conversation?

I am a delegate, a representative delegate of Dark Sky International and have been for many years. They are the leading organization globally to help communities, states and countries regulate their outdoor lighting at night. I've been in conversations with the rangers at the Volcano National Park.

I believe the cow, the Kau district stands to benefit by declaring it's, you know, going through the process of becoming a Dark Sky Reserve. But again, it really gets down to creating lighting ordinances that will change the way people light the night in Hawaii.

Otherwise you're going to lose the natural resource that is a dark sky as it has been lost in Oahu and Maui. Sure. Thank you very much. You're welcome.

Okay, Any further questions? Seeing none. Thank you. Let's move on to the next set of measures. SCR 31 and SR 17 endorsing Taiwan's international participation, supporting the signing of the United States Taiwan Bilateral Trade Agreement and commemorating the relationships and exchanges between the State of Hawaii and Taiwan.

And Testifying first on SCR31 and SR17 is the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism signed up online, not available on Zoom Chair. Thank you. That's everyone who had signed up to testify. Is there anyone else wishing to testify on SCR 31 and SR 17? Seeing none.

Seeing as there's no one to ask questions of immediately, why don't we for the moment then move on to the next set of measures on the agenda. SCR180 and SR150 requesting the Department of Transportation to submit reports to the Legislature summarizing safety related information for General aviation, commercial tour operators in the state and doing some other things.

And Testifying first on SCR180 is Blue Hawaiian Helicopters. Good afternoon.

Aloha Chair Lee and Committee. Quinn Koch, President for Blue Hawaiian Helicopters definitely support this measure. Being fully transparent has always been our priority. The one component on it, some of the safety reporting is preempted by the SMS process where you're allowed to do anonymous reporting through our pilots and maintenance.

So some of the reports go to the FAA and remain anonymous. Anonymous. So people feel Open and free to talk to, which all the airlines do as well. And we definitely support that. But do believe that this would be a great way to be transparent with the community. Thank you.

Thank you. That's everyone who had signed up to testify on these two resolutions. Is there anyone else wishing to testify in this measure this afternoon?

Yes, Chair. Colonel to the reports. Apologies for the late testimony. We sat on a written testimony opposite opposing this measure. And I'm happy to answer any questions. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Is there anyone else wishing to testify on SCR180 and SR150? Seeing none. Are there any questions, please?

Hi, Kurt. Question for Department of Transportation. In your testimony, you said that State of Hawaii doesn't have jurisdiction over to our operators. Is this kind of like a federal jurisdiction or what are your thoughts on that?

Yes, thanks. Thanks for that question. Exactly. It's an FAA regulation. Anything that goes above the land, basically, FAA governs, they issue the permits to the tour operators. The information that is being requested through this resolution is information that would be collected by the Faa. If the state were to do it, it'd be purely on a voluntary basis.

Thank you, Kurt. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you. Further questions? Just, I guess just one for dot. Building on that, to your point about what information is available and from what sources and so on. Presumably Yelp ratings for businesses in General, including those that would be covered by this resolution, is all public information. And there's no issue there, right?

There's no issue there. Absolutely. And I agree. You know, we want to be as transparent as we can. Anything on the ground, leases to hangers and of that sort are public information. So we do collect that information. But once you get through flight patterns and things of that nature, the state does not have that jurisdiction or authority.

Sure. If we were to ask various companies voluntarily for whatever the list of criteria are, are you operating safely, whatever it might be, and they provide that, then is there any legal issue with that, at least as far as you can see? Granted.

I also know you're not the ag, so I'm not trying to trip you up here.

I don't believe so. I. I believe we have been talking to the industry, different associations. They do want to comply. They do want to prove to the public that they're transparent and they're safe.

So I believe that collectively, if we just work together to find a path forward so that it's not evasive on their rights, that doesn't over overstep the boundaries of FAA, I'm sure that we could come to Some kind of resolution or some kind of information that would appease or satisfy the needs of this resolution.

All right, thank you very much. Any further questions? All right, Seeing none. Thank you. Let's move on to the next measure, SCR150, requesting the Department of Transportation to convene a working group to develop and recommend federal, state and county programs subsidizing the transport of waterborne cargo. Testifying first on SR150IS. I'm sorry, SCR150IS the Department of Transportation.

Aloha Chair, Dre Kalili, Deputy Director of Transportation for Harbors. We did submit written testimony in support.

And included in our testimony is a request of your Committee to consider maybe reducing the size of the working group just to facilitate us getting that work and report to the Legislature ahead of the 2026 session, understanding that all the parties named in the resolution would be consulted, as we, you know, once we come up with the recommendation, consult with those parties, even though those parties may not all be in the working group.

Thank you.

Thank you. Next is Young Brothers. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Chair. Members of the Committee, my name is Chris Nakagawa. On behalf of Young Brothers, we stand on a strong testimony in support, and we also support any amendments that DOT Harbors has on this measure. Thank you.

Thank you. And finally on scr150 is the Hawaii Food Industry Association online. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon, Chair. Thank you for taking our testimony. I know it was late today. Alexis Chapman for HFIA. We stand on our testimony, testimony and support. We'd be happy to lend any expertise or assistance to this working group as applicable, and I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you very much. That's all the testifiers on SCR150. Is there anyone else wishing to testify? I've seen none. Are there any questions? All right, Seeing none. Thank you, everybody. Let's move on to SCR37 and SR21.

Requesting the Department of Transportation and Department of Transportation of the County of Maui to collaborate with the Kihei Community Association in the planning and implementation of the Kihei Mauka Road project. And testifying first on these is the Kihei Community Association. Mr. Moran. We also have signed up online. Rob Weltman. Good afternoon.

Good afternoon. Yeah. My turn.

Yeah. Please proceed. Okay.

Sorry. Allah. South Maui traffic is channeled from Pilani highway through a single ingress egress, the Veterans Highway. Several hours each workday. Traffic barely moves because of turning vehicles. If there's a fire or severe flooding, the choke point could be catastrophic. The many additional developments planned for South Maui will only add to the congestion.

In particular, the Kihei Mauka Master Plan development. Mauka Piyana Promenade and the high school likely include 1500 homes and need a way to get both south and north to get to central Maui. A Kehe Mauka Road is needed both for traffic and safety of the Kehe Mauka development as well as to ease traffic on PI Lani Highway.

Important segments of the Kehimauka Road will be constructed by the developments who will pass through the Kihimaoka and Hawaiian Homelands. But it cannot connect to Veterans highway without state planning and implementation. They support STR 37 to get the ball rolling and the planning of this critical piece of infrastructure.

Thank you very much. Up next on SR37 and SR21. Actually, that's everyone who had signed up to testify. Is there anyone else wishing to testify on these resolutions? Seeing none. Are there any questions? All right, thank you, everyone. Seeing none.

Let's move to the last set of resolutions, SCR 38 and SR 22, urging the County of Maui to prioritize the development and planning of the northern terminus of the Kihei North South Collector Road. And testifying. First is the Kihei Community Association, who's in support. And then Mr. Weltman.

Hello. I already mentioned the issues we have with traffic and congestion and, and with Detroit Point at the meeting point, Pilani Highway and Veterans Highway. So I won't mention that again. However, the North South Collector Road has intended to address part of that and it's been in the works for almost three decades.

But only two segments have been completed to date. And this road, once it's completed, will alleviate traffic and also critically provide another ingress egress for South Maui. There's a vital segment connecting the southern segments to Veterans Highway. That's the northernmost piece. Unfortunately, that is not even scheduled for planning at this time.

So please support SCR38 to start planning the connection of the North South Collector Road to Veterans Highway.

All right, thank you very much. That's all the testimony we have on scr 38 and Sr 22. Is there anyone else wishing to testify on these measures this afternoon? All right, seeing none. Are there any questions? Seeing none. Thank you very much.

So we are at the end of our resolution agenda here on the resolutions we just heard. So like we have quorum, why don't we go straight into decision making on these measures?

So going back to the top of the agenda to SCR131, SR110 regarding the Hawaii Theater center recommendation is to move this forward as is or move both of these resolutions SCR131 and SR110 forward as is if the Committee's okay with it taking these votes as one for each set of resolutions. Okay.

If there's no discussion on that then Acting Vice Chair for the vote and vice or chair both side.

Okay. Judge recommendations to pass SCR131 and SR110 unamended. Chair Lee votes aye. Senator Inouye Vice Chair is excused. I vote aye. Senator Kanuha, Senator DeCorte, Mr. Chair, recommendations adopted.

Thank you. Moving on to the next set of resolutions SCR169 and SR138. Requesting the archives to expand Public Outreach Hawaii's history and create opportunities for public discussion and civic engagement. Like to recommend moving this forward with amendments. Just addressing the comments about indigenous culture that I believe it was Ms. Tarada had raised in her testimony.

So we'll add in a reference to that. Otherwise any discussion seeing none.

Acting Vice Chair's recommendations to pass SCR169 SR138 with amendments of the four Members present any no votes or votes or reservations hearing none. Mr. Chair recommendations adopted.

Thank you. Moving on to SCR12 and SR8 recognizing international dark sky Week. Appreciate the discussion here. I would like to actually dive into this so defer this measure for decision making until Tuesday 1st.

That's next week Tuesday at 3:02pm here in this room 224 and hopefully we can chat with some of the reference stakeholders and see if we can come up with some helpful language. Moving on to SCR31 and SR17 endorsing Taiwan's international participation in bilateral trade agreements and commemorating the relationships exchanges between the State of Hawaii and Taiwan.

Recommendation is to move us forward with amendments. Just making technical non substantive amendments. Any discussion on SCR31 or SR17? See none.

Vice Chair for the vote. Chair's recommendation to pass SER 31 Sr 17 with amendments of the four Members present. Any no votes or votes or reservations hearing none. Mr. Chair recommendations adopted.

Thank you. Moving on to SCR180 and SR150. Requesting.to submit reports regarding safety related information for General aviation and commercial tour operators. Similarly to the other measure.

I'd like to defer this for decision making to Tuesday the 1st at 3:02pm here in this room conference room 224 and we'll see what we can come up with on that.

Moving on to SCR150 requesting the Department of Transportation convene a working group to develop and recommend federal state and county programs subsidizing the transport of waterborne cargo will also defer till Tuesday 41 at 3:02pm here in this room conference room 224 for decision making so we can take up I think the suggested potential amendments from DoT and then moving on to SCR37 and SR21 requesting the Department of Transportation and Department of Transportation of the County of Maui to collaborate with the Kihei Community Association and plaza planning and implementation of Kiheimaka Road project Like to recommendation like would like to recommend moving this forward as is.

There'S no discussion Vice Chair Chair's Recommendations to pass SCR37 SR21 unamended of the four Members present any no votes or votes or reservations hearing none Mr. Chair recommendations adopted thank you.

And finally moving on to SCR38 and SR22 urging the County of Maui to prioritize the development and planning of the northern term terminus of Keyhill North South Collector Road. Recommendation is to pass with amendments making technical non substantive amendments. There's no discussion on that Vice Chair.

For the last vote okay Chair's recommendations to pass SDR38 and SR22 with amendments of the four Members present any no votes or votes or reservations hearing none Mr. Chair recommendations adopted all right. Thank you very much. Thank you Committee Members and everyone who patiently waited return.