Making An Emergency Appropriation To The Department Of Transportation.
Summary
HB1167 makes an emergency appropriation to the Department of Transportation from the state highway fund for fiscal year 2024-2025. The money is intended to cover payroll, fringe benefits, and administrative costs associated with enforcing the motor carrier law, which was transferred from the Public Utilities Commission to the Department of Transportation by Act 117 (Session Laws of Hawaii 2024). The bill is framed as a governor-recommended emergency measure for immediate passage.
The bill also provides that the appropriation will not lapse at the end of the fiscal year, but any unexpended and unencumbered balance remaining as of June 30, 2026, will revert to the state highway fund. The measure takes effect on July 1, 2025, and is limited to funding the enforcement responsibilities already shifted to DOT.
Impact
HB1167 would amend the state’s budgetary treatment of the motor carrier enforcement function by supplying operating funds to the Department of Transportation for duties previously transferred from the Public Utilities Commission. It does not create a new regulatory program, but it does authorize a dedicated emergency expenditure from the state highway fund to support staffing and administration tied to motor carrier law enforcement. The practical effect is to ensure the transferred enforcement authority can be carried out without interruption due to lack of appropriated funds.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests broad support and little opposition. The bill passed the Senate Transportation and Culture and the Arts Committee 4-0 with amendments and then passed the Senate Ways and Means Committee 13-0 unamended. The absence of recorded dissent and the bill’s characterization as a governor-recommended emergency appropriation indicate a generally favorable view of the measure as a necessary funding fix.
Contention
No major substantive controversy is reflected in the provided materials. The main issue appears to be administrative and fiscal: ensuring the Department of Transportation has sufficient appropriations to absorb the motor carrier enforcement duties transferred by prior law. Any discussion likely centered on the amount, source, and timing of the appropriation, as well as the non-lapsing treatment of the funds, rather than on the underlying policy of motor carrier enforcement itself.