RELATING TO HIGHWAYS.

HB1165

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1165

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO HIGHWAYS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

����
SECTION 1.
�
Section
46-1.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

����
"
�46-1.5
�
General powers and limitation of the
counties.
�
Subject to general law,
each county shall have the following powers and shall be subject to the
following liabilities and limitations:

����
(1)
�
Each
county shall have the power to frame and adopt a charter for its own
self-government that shall establish the county executive, administrative, and
legislative structure and organization, including but not limited to the method
of appointment or election of officials, their duties, responsibilities, and
compensation, and the terms of their office;

����
(2)
�
Each
county shall have the power to provide for and regulate the marking and
lighting of all buildings and other structures that may be obstructions or
hazards to aerial navigation, so far as may be necessary or proper for the
protection and safeguarding of life, health, and property;

����
(3)
�
Each
county shall have the power to enforce all claims on behalf of the county and
approve all lawful claims against the county, but shall be prohibited from
entering into, granting, or making in any manner any contract, authorization,
allowance payment, or liability contrary to the provisions of any county
charter or general law;

����
(4)
�
Each
county shall have the power to make contracts and to do all things necessary
and proper to carry into execution all powers vested in the county or any
county officer;

����
(5)
�
Each
county shall have the power to:

���������
(A)
�
Maintain
channels, whether natural or artificial, including their exits to the ocean, in
suitable condition to carry off storm waters;

���������
(B)
�
Remove
from the channels, and from the shores and beaches, any debris that is likely
to create an unsanitary condition or become a public nuisance; provided that,
to the extent any of the foregoing work is a private responsibility, the
responsibility may be enforced by the county in lieu of the work being done at
public expense;

���������
(C)
�
Construct,
acquire by gift, purchase, or by the exercise of eminent domain, reconstruct,
improve, better, extend, and maintain projects or undertakings for the control
of and protection against floods and flood waters, including the power to drain
and rehabilitate lands already flooded;

���������
(D)
�
Enact
zoning ordinances providing that lands deemed subject to seasonable, periodic,
or occasional flooding shall not be used for residence or other purposes in a
manner as to endanger the health or safety of the occupants thereof, as
required by the Federal Flood Insurance Act of 1956 (chapter 1025, Public Law
1016); and

���������
(E)
�
Establish
and charge user fees to create and maintain any stormwater management system or
infrastructure; provided that no county shall charge against or collect user
fees from the department of transportation in excess of $1,500,000 in the
aggregate per year; provided further that no services shall be denied to the
department of transportation by reason of nonpayment of the fees;

����
(6)
�
Each
county shall have the power to exercise the power of condemnation by eminent
domain when it is in the public interest to do so;

����
(7)
�
Each
county shall have the power to exercise regulatory powers over business
activity as are assigned to them by chapter 445 or other general law;

����
(8)
�
Each
county shall have the power to fix the fees and charges for all official
services not otherwise provided for;

����
(9)
�
Each
county shall have the power to provide by ordinance assessments for the
improvement or maintenance of districts within the county;

���
(10)
�
Except
as otherwise provided, no county shall have the power to give or loan credit
to, or in aid of, any person or corporation, directly or indirectly, except for
a public purpose;

���
(11)
�
Where
not within the jurisdiction of the public utilities commission, each county
shall have the power to regulate by ordinance the operation of motor vehicle
common carriers transporting passengers within the county and adopt and amend
rules the county deems necessary for the public convenience and necessity;

���
(12)
�
Each
county shall have the power to enact and enforce ordinances necessary to
prevent or summarily remove public nuisances and to compel the clearing or
removal of any public nuisance, refuse, and uncultivated undergrowth from
streets, sidewalks, public places, and unoccupied lots.
�
In connection with these powers, each county
may impose and enforce liens upon the property for the cost to the county of
removing and completing the necessary work where the property owners fail,
after reasonable notice, to comply with the ordinances.
�
The authority provided by this paragraph
shall not be self-executing, but shall become fully effective within a county
only upon the enactment or adoption by the county of appropriate and particular
laws, ordinances, or rules defining "public nuisances" with respect
to each county's respective circumstances.
�

The counties shall provide the property owner with the opportunity to
contest the summary action and to recover the owner's property;

���
(13)
�
Each
county shall have the power to enact ordinances deemed necessary to protect
health, life, and property, and to preserve the order and security of the
county and its inhabitants on any subject or matter not inconsistent with, or
tending to defeat, the intent of any state statute where the statute does not
disclose an express or implied intent that the statute shall be exclusive or
uniform throughout the State;

���
(14)
�
Each
county shall have the power to:

���������
(A)
�
Make
and enforce within the limits of the county all necessary ordinances covering
all:

�������������
(i)
�
Local police matters;

������������
(ii)
�
Matters of sanitation;

�����������
(iii)
�
Matters of inspection of buildings;

������������
(iv)
�
Matters of condemnation of unsafe structures, plumbing, sewers,
dairies, milk, fish, and morgues; and

�������������
(v)
�
Matters of the collection and disposition of rubbish and garbage;

���������
(B)
�
Provide
exemptions for homeless facilities and any other program for the homeless
authorized by part XVII of chapter 346, for all matters under this paragraph;

���������
(C)
�
Appoint
county physicians and sanitary and other inspectors as necessary to carry into
effect ordinances made under this paragraph, who shall have the same power as
given by law to agents of the department of health, subject only to limitations
placed on them by the terms and conditions of their appointments; and

���������
(D)
�
Fix
a penalty for the violation of any ordinance, which penalty may be a
misdemeanor, petty misdemeanor, or violation as defined by general law;

���
(15)
�
Each
county shall have the power to provide public pounds; to regulate the
impounding of stray animals and fowl, and their disposition; and to provide for
the appointment, powers, duties, and fees of animal control officers;

���
(16)
�
Each
county shall have the power to purchase and otherwise acquire, lease, and hold
real and personal property within the defined boundaries of the county and to
dispose of the real and personal property as the interests of the inhabitants
of the county may require, except that:

���������
(A)
�
Any
property held for school purposes may not be disposed of without the consent of
the superintendent of education;

���������
(B)
�
No
property bordering the ocean shall be sold or otherwise disposed of
;
except when the department of transportation requests the
acquisition of the property for state highway
purposes;
and

���������
(C)
�
All
proceeds from the sale of park lands shall be expended only for the acquisition
of property for park or recreational purposes;

���
(17)
�
Each
county shall have the power to provide by charter for the prosecution of all
offenses and to prosecute for offenses against the laws of the State under the
authority of the attorney general of the State;

���
(18)
�
Each
county shall have the power to make appropriations in amounts deemed
appropriate from any moneys in the treasury, for the purpose of:

���������
(A)
�
Community
promotion and public celebrations;

���������
(B)
�
The
entertainment of distinguished persons as may from time to time visit the
county;

���������
(C)
�
The
entertainment of other distinguished persons, as well as, public officials when
deemed to be in the best interest of the community; and

���������
(D)
�
The
rendering of civic tribute to individuals who, by virtue of their
accomplishments and community service, merit civic commendations, recognition,
or remembrance;

���
(19)
�
Each
county shall have the power to:

���������
(A)
�
Construct,
purchase, take on lease, lease, sublease, or in any other manner acquire,
manage, maintain, or dispose of buildings for county purposes, sewers, sewer
systems, pumping stations, waterworks, including reservoirs, wells, pipelines,
and other conduits for distributing water to the public, lighting plants, and
apparatus and appliances for lighting streets and public buildings, and manage,
regulate, and control the same;

���������
(B)
�
Regulate
and control the location and quality of all appliances necessary to the
furnishing of water, heat, light, power, telephone, and telecommunications
service to the county;

���������
(C)
�
Acquire,
regulate, and control any and all appliances for the sprinkling and cleaning of
the streets and the public ways, and for flushing the sewers; and

���������
(D)
�
Open,
close, construct, or maintain county highways or charge toll on county
highways; provided that all revenues received from a toll charge shall be used
for the construction or maintenance of county highways;

���
(20)
�
Each
county shall have the power to regulate the renting, subletting, and rental
conditions of property for places of abode by ordinance;

���
(21)
�
Unless
otherwise provided by law, each county shall have the power to establish by
ordinance the order of succession of county officials in the event of a
military or civil disaster;

���
(22)
�
Each
county shall have the power to sue and be sued in its corporate name;

���
(23)
�
Each
county shall have the power to:

���������
(A)
�
Establish
and maintain waterworks and sewer works;

���������
(B)
�
Implement
a sewer monitoring program that includes the inspection of sewer laterals that
connect to county sewers, when those laterals are located on public or private
property, after providing a property owner not less than ten calendar days'
written notice, to detect leaks from laterals, infiltration, and inflow, any
other law to the contrary notwithstanding;

���������
(C)
�
Compel
an owner of private property upon which is located any sewer lateral that
connects to a county sewer to inspect that lateral for leaks, infiltration, and
inflow and to perform repairs as necessary;

���������
(D)
�
Collect
rates for water supplied to consumers and for the use of sewers;

���������
(E)
�
Install
water meters whenever deemed expedient; provided that owners of premises having
vested water rights under existing laws appurtenant to the premises shall not
be charged for the installation or use of the water meters on the premises;

���������
(F)
�
Take
over from the State existing waterworks systems, including water rights,
pipelines, and other appurtenances belonging thereto, and sewer systems, and to
enlarge, develop, and improve the same; and

���������
(G)
�
For
purposes of subparagraphs (B) and (C):

�������������
(i)
�
"Infiltration" means groundwater, rainwater, and
saltwater that enters the county sewer system through cracked, broken, or
defective sewer laterals; and

������������
(ii)
�
"Inflow" means non-sewage entering the county sewer
system via inappropriate or illegal connections;

����
(24)

(A)
�
Each county may impose civil fines, in
addition to criminal penalties, for any violation of county ordinances or rules
after reasonable notice and requests to correct or cease the violation have
been made upon the violator.
�
Any
administratively imposed civil fine shall not be collected until after an
opportunity for a hearing under chapter 91.
�

Any appeal shall be filed within thirty days from the date of the final
written decision.
�
These proceedings
shall not be a prerequisite for any civil fine or injunctive relief ordered by
the circuit court;

���������
(B)
�
Each
county by ordinance may provide for the addition of any unpaid civil fines,
ordered by any court of competent jurisdiction, to any taxes, fees, or charges,
with the exception of fees or charges for water for residential use and sewer
charges, collected by the county.
�
Each
county by ordinance may also provide for the addition of any unpaid
administratively imposed civil fines, which remain due after all judicial
review rights under section 91-14 are exhausted, to any taxes, fees, or
charges, with the exception of water for residential use and sewer charges,
collected by the county.
�
The ordinance
shall specify the administrative procedures for the addition of the unpaid
civil fines to the eligible taxes, fees, or charges and may require hearings or
other proceedings.
�
After addition of the
unpaid civil fines to the taxes, fees, or charges, the unpaid civil fines shall
not become a part of any taxes, fees, or charges.
�
The county by ordinance may condition the
issuance or renewal of a license, approval, or permit for which a fee or charge
is assessed, except for water for residential use and sewer charges, on payment
of the unpaid civil fines.
�
Upon
recordation of a notice of unpaid civil fines in the bureau of conveyances, the
amount of the civil fines, including any increase in the amount of the fine
which the county may assess, shall constitute a lien upon all real property or
rights to real property belonging to any person liable for the unpaid civil
fines.
�
The lien in favor of the county
shall be subordinate to any lien in favor of any person recorded or registered
prior to the recordation of the notice of unpaid civil fines and senior to any
lien recorded or registered after the recordation of the notice.
�
The lien shall continue until the unpaid
civil fines are paid in full or until a certificate of release or partial
release of the lien, prepared by the county at the owner's expense, is
recorded.
�
The notice of unpaid civil
fines shall state the amount of the fine as of the date of the notice and maximum
permissible daily increase of the fine.
�

The county shall not be required to include a social security number,
state general excise taxpayer identification number, or federal employer
identification number on the notice.
�

Recordation of the notice in the bureau of conveyances shall be deemed,
at such time, for all purposes and without any further action, to procure a
lien on land registered in land court under chapter 501.
�
After the unpaid civil fines are added to the
taxes, fees, or charges as specified by county ordinance, the unpaid civil
fines shall be deemed immediately due, owing, and delinquent and may be
collected in any lawful manner.
�
The
procedure for collection of unpaid civil fines authorized in this paragraph
shall be in addition to any other procedures for collection available to the
State and county by law or rules of the courts;

���������
(C)
�
Each
county may impose civil fines upon any person who places graffiti on any real
or personal property owned, managed, or maintained by the county.
�
The fine may be up to $1,000 or may be equal
to the actual cost of having the damaged property repaired or replaced.
�
The parent or guardian having custody of a
minor who places graffiti on any real or personal property owned, managed, or
maintained by the county shall be jointly and severally liable with the minor
for any civil fines imposed hereunder.
�

Any such fine may be administratively imposed after an opportunity for a
hearing under chapter 91, but such a proceeding shall not be a prerequisite for
any civil fine ordered by any court.
�
As
used in this subparagraph, "graffiti" means any unauthorized drawing,
inscription, figure, or mark of any type intentionally created by paint, ink,
chalk, dye, or similar substances;

���������
(D)
�
At
the completion of an appeal in which the county's enforcement action is
affirmed and upon correction of the violation if requested by the violator, the
case shall be reviewed by the county agency that imposed the civil fines to
determine the appropriateness of the amount of the civil fines that accrued
while the appeal proceedings were pending.
�

In its review of the amount of the accrued fines, the county agency may
consider:

�������������
(i)
�
The nature and egregiousness of the violation;

������������
(ii)
�
The duration of the violation;

�����������
(iii)
�
The number of recurring and other similar violations;

������������
(iv)
�
Any effort taken by the violator to correct the violation;

�������������
(v)
�
The degree of involvement in causing or continuing the violation;

������������
(vi)
�
Reasons for any delay in the completion of the appeal; and

�����������
(vii)
�
Other extenuating circumstances.

�������������
The civil fine that is imposed by
administrative order after this review is completed and the violation is
corrected shall be subject to judicial review, notwithstanding any provisions
for administrative review in county charters;

���������
(E)
�
After
completion of a review of the amount of accrued civil fine by the county agency
that imposed the fine, the amount of the civil fine determined appropriate,
including both the initial civil fine and any accrued daily civil fine, shall
immediately become due and collectible following reasonable notice to the
violator.
�
If no review of the accrued
civil fine is requested, the amount of the civil fine, not to exceed the total
accrual of civil fine prior to correcting the violation, shall immediately
become due and collectible following reasonable notice to the violator, at the
completion of all appeal proceedings; and

���������
(F)
�
If
no county agency exists to conduct appeal proceedings for a particular civil
fine action taken by the county, then one shall be established by ordinance
before the county shall impose the civil fine;

���
(25)
�
Any
law to the contrary notwithstanding, any county mayor, by executive order, may
exempt donors, provider agencies, homeless facilities, and any other program
for the homeless under part XVII of chapter 346 from real property taxes, water
and sewer development fees, rates collected for water supplied to consumers and
for use of sewers, and any other county taxes, charges, or fees; provided that
any county may enact ordinances to regulate and grant the exemptions granted by
this paragraph;

���
(26)
�
Any
county may establish a captive insurance company pursuant to article 19,
chapter 431; and

���
(27)
�
Each
county shall have the power to enact and enforce ordinances regulating towing
operations."

����
SECTION 2.
�

If any portion of this Act or its application to any person, entity, or
circumstance is held to be invalid for any reason, then the legislature
declares that the remainder of the Act and each and every other provision
thereof shall not be affected thereby.
�

If any portion of a specific appropriation is held to be invalid for any
reason, the remaining portion shall be expended to fulfill the objective of
such appropriation to the extent possible.

����
SECTION 3.
�

Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory material is underscored.

����
SECTION 4.
�

This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

BY REQUEST

Report Title:

Sale of Real Property; Counties

Description:

Authorizes the counties to sell or dispose of property
bordering the ocean when the Department of Transportation requests the
acquisition of the property for state highway purposes.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.