HILO — In hopes of keeping the ferry issue afloat, the state Senate passed a resolution last year asking transportation officials to study whether Washington state’s ferry system could be used as a model for Hawaii. ADVERTISING HILO — In
HILO — In hopes of keeping the ferry issue afloat, the state Senate passed a resolution last year asking transportation officials to study whether Washington state’s ferry system could be used as a model for Hawaii.
After seeing no action, the Legislature pushed again, though this time with a mandate and funding to go with it.
The House voted Tuesday on Senate Bill 2618 to send the bill to conference. The Senate already approved a version of the bill.
Unlike the resolution, the bill requires the Department of Transportation to conduct the study. While funding would be provided, the amount to be allocated remains blank in the bill.
In its written testimony, the department says it strongly supports the measure. Sen. Lorraine Inouye is one of the co-sponsors.
Inouye, D-North Hawaii, said officials would be required to have a report ready for the 2017 legislative session.
She said the study would consider whether a state-run ferry service, if approved, should be passenger-only or also serve vehicles and cargo.
“We certainly need another mode of transportation other than air,” Inouye said.
According to the bill, the study would take a close look at state-owned systems in Washington and Alaska.
Those systems differ from the Superferry, which was a private venture.
The Superferry ran from 2007-09 and shut down after a judge ruled it was unconstitutional to allow it to operate without a full environmental review.
Additionally, the bill says the study would address appropriate routes and harbors, costs, rates and fees, vessel design, impacts on traffic congestion, and the spread of invasive species.
