HILO — Several bills introduced by Hawaii Island representatives died in the final hours of legislative conferencing Friday.
Among the measures were funding for rat lungworm research, a proposal to create a new community economic district in Hilo, and an airports re-organization plan. Friday was the last day to submit fiscal bills bill before their final reading and vote.
The rat lungworm bill would have provided up to $695,000 in funding for research at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Professor Sue Jarvi and her lab have thus far done research using grant money.
“We took that all the way to the end,” said state Sen. Kai Kahele, D- Hilo, on Saturday, adding that he was “pretty shocked” the bill did not pass. “We just kept postponing it (the final conference) and postponing, hoping for something.”
He said he was also surprised that one of the main priorities for East Hawaii legislators, a measure creating the first-ever Neighbor Island community economic district in the Waiakea Peninsula and Kanoelehua Indistrial Area, had failed in the final hours of yesterday’s session.
A bill introduced by Rep. Richard Onishi, D- Hilo, Keaau, Kurtistown, Volcano, to create a new planning district specific to the Waiakea Peninsula, did move forward.
A bill introduced by Sen. Lorraine Inouye, D- Hilo, Hamakua, Kohala, Waimea, Waikoloa, Kona, would have created an airport corporation to handle management, planning and marketing for the state’s airports. These functions are currently spread across multiple agencies.
The Hawaii Department of Transportation had also supported the bill’s passage. But, as was the case last year, the bill died in conferencing.
“Without systemic changes the public should not expect significant changes at our airports,” HDOT director Ford Fuchigami said in a statement. “That said we will continue to manage with the resources we have available for the 34 million passengers who fly to and from Hawaii’s 15 airports each year.”