Bill > SB1244

This bill allows counties with a population of 500,000 or less to use a portion of their general excise and fuel tax revenues for the maintenance of private roadways that are open to the public. The legislation modifies existing state laws to expand the authorized uses of county tax surcharges, specifically enabling counties to spend these funds on maintaining privately owned roads that serve public use. The bill recognizes that many privately owned roads are effectively public thoroughfares and seeks to provide funding for their upkeep. Specifically, the bill amends two sections of Hawaii Revised Statutes: Section 46-16.8, which governs county surcharges on state taxes, and Section 243-6, which deals with fuel tax dispositions. The changes explicitly add private roadways open to the public to the list of infrastructure that can be maintained using these tax revenues. The bill is set to take effect on July 1, 2050, giving counties a long runway to implement these new funding provisions. The underlying purpose is to support the maintenance of roadways that, while privately owned, provide critical transportation infrastructure for public use.

Budget and Finance, Government Affairs, Transportation and Infrastructure

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=1244&year=2025