A bill to help fund a University of Hawaii aviation program has died.
Senate Bill 3073, one of three measures the late Hilo state Sen. Gil Kahele signed before he died in January, was never heard by the House Committee on Finance.
UH had issues with some of the proposal’s amendments, said state Sen. Kai Kahele, Gil Kahele’s son and successor, and ultimately the bill was axed.
If passed, it would have allotted funding to help the Hilo-based program get started.
UH is still hoping to launch the program, regardless, contingent on approval by the Board of Regents in the fall, Kai Kahele said. The first class would start the following year.
“In the big picture, my dad wanted to get some initial funding that would have been nice to start up with,” Kai Kahele said. “But it was never requested by the university that it was needed. Chancellor (Donald) Straney (of UH) has always been supportive of the program, and the bill and funding (ultimately) wasn’t necessary.” UH spokesman Dan Meisenzahl said Friday in a statement the school is working with the Legislature and Kai Kahele at “exploring other options.”
A resolution to establish the “Gil Kahele Aero Technology campus” as a Hilo hub for all things aerospace, aeronautics and aviation, also will not move forward. Instead, language in the resolution was inserted into House Bill 2263, which would fund a feasibility study for developing “small satellite launch and processing facilities” on Hawaii Island. That bill now calls to “develop a plan for an aero technology campus to be located in Hilo.”
“It actually makes (the idea) better because (a bill) is much stronger than a resolution,” Kai Kahele said. “We can always name it something in the future, but to continue the study and conversation for an aero-technology park in Hilo, the bill will be the best vehicle now.”
Gil Kahele’s two other legacy bills — an airport authority measure and legislation calling for the state to purchase land at Kapua Bay — are both still alive and in conference.
