The late state Sen. Gil Kahele’s bill to establish a statewide airport governing body cleared the Ways and Means committee Monday and is on its way to the full Senate.
The late state Sen. Gil Kahele’s bill to establish a statewide airport governing body cleared the Ways and Means committee Monday and is on its way to the full Senate.
An amended Senate Bill 3072, one of three measures the Hilo Democrat signed before he died in January, would establish a five-member airport authority to oversee all of the state’s 15 airports, currently headed by the Department of Transportation.
Proponents say doing so would modernize decades-old airports more quickly. They say a board could also more easily access public-private partnerships, particularly for capital improvement projects.
“This is a big deal,” said state Sen. Kai Kahele, the son of Gil Kahele who was appointed to fill his father’s empty seat. “The creation of an airport authority is a really big, bold idea. It’s something that I think our state needs and something my dad thought (as well).”
Kahele said the bill has been amended to give Gov. David Ige final say over an implementation date. Previously, the measure was written to establish the authority starting July 1, 2018.
The bill will go up for a full Senate for vote by March 8.
Another legacy bill is also moving along. Senate Bill 3071, a measure which calls for the state to purchase land at Kapua Bay and incorporate it into the South Kona Wilderness Area cleared the Senate in February and has passed its first reading in the House. It’s slated to be heard next by the House Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Water and Land.