In a new twist, the fate of a rail tax extension this year could now depend on whether county leaders agree to take ownership of roads whose responsibility has been disputed for years.
State legislators added the hundreds of miles of so-called "roads in limbo" across Hawaii to their latest conference discussions Monday on House Bill 134, as they continue to negotiate the controversial rail tax extension measure for Oahu.
A group of senators, led by Ways and Means Chairwoman Sen. Jill Tokuda (D, Kailua-Kaneohe), proposed that any county be allowed to adopt the surcharge for a limited time — but to do so, that county would also have to put in writing that it owns the disputed "public highways" there.
House Finance Chairwoman Sylvia Luke (D, Punchbowl-Pauoa-Nuuanu) was open to the idea.
The move could solve a statewide problem with roadways that lawmakers have been unable to fix for decades while also forcing Honolulu leaders to put more so-called "skin in the game" on the tax surcharge issue, both Luke and Tokuda said after the meeting.
Lawmakers, including Luke, have repeatedly called for a stronger commitment on the county level to complete the rail project, which faces up to a $910 million budget shortfall.
On Monday, Luke argued that Oahu property taxes could be a good way to fund rail. It’s a progressive tax, affecting the island’s wealthier residents more than its lower-income earners, and about a third of the property tax total is paid by investors who live off-island, Luke said.
Nonetheless, she remained open Monday to extending the 0.5 percent general excise tax surcharge for five years and also letting other counties adopt it for their own transportation needs — but only if they agree to take ownership of their disputed "roads in limbo."
The issue over who owns certain roads dates back decades in Hawaii and often concerns roadways that neither the state nor local county wants to maintain.
"When calls for assistance are made to the county, the county refers them to the state. When calls are made to the state, the state refers them back to the county," a 1989 Legislative Reference Bureau report on the issue stated. "The jurisdiction over these roads remains in dispute, and it is the residents who pay the price."
JoAnn Yukimura, Transportation Committee chairwoman for the Kauai County Council, said she and a Council majority would support a surcharge for badly needed expansion of the island’s public buses and other projects.
"We have the bus drivers open their doors and say sorry, they’re too full" to fit more passengers in the vehicle, Yukimura said Monday after the conference meeting. However, throwing disputed roads into the mix might cloud that support, she added.
