Bill > SB3154

This bill authorizes the Hawaii Department of Transportation to take on certain environmental review responsibilities for transportation projects, specifically highway, railroad, public transportation, and multimodal projects, that are currently handled by the federal government under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). This is intended to speed up the process of approving these projects while still ensuring environmental protections are maintained. To facilitate this, the bill allows the department to enter into agreements with the U.S. Department of Transportation to assume these duties, including designating certain projects as "categorical exclusions" which means they won't require full environmental assessments or impact statements, and participating in a federal program for project delivery. Importantly, the bill also includes a limited waiver of sovereign immunity, meaning the state agrees to be sued in federal court for issues arising from these assumed responsibilities, but only under specific conditions related to federal law and agreements with the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Justice, Transportation and Infrastructure

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=3154&year=2026