Aviation groups lobby to maintain commercial airfield on Oahu
HONOLULU — Two national aviation organizations made requests to state and federal authorities to take steps that will extend the lifespan of a commercial airfield on Oahu.
Businesses are alarmed by the surprise announcement that the state Department of Transportation intends to pull out as landlord of Dillingham Airfield at the end of June.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, representing more than 1,000 members in Hawaii, requested a postponement of the termination for at least 14 months in a March 2 letter to Democratic Gov. David Ige.
The delay would provide sufficient time to identify a new sponsor for the airport on Oahu’s North Shore and new management for its community water system, the aircraft association said.
The United States Parachute Association sent a March 2 letter to the Federal Aviation Administration imploring the agency not to release the state from its grant obligations.
Hawaii received $1.3 million from the FAA in three Dillingham improvement grants distributed in 1988, 2003 and 2005.
Senate bill could become nation’s first carbon emissions tax
HONOLULU — Hawaii could become the first state to enact a tax on carbon emissions, but the bill still requires passage by the House and the governor.
A carbon tax proposed by Democratic state Sen. Karl Rhoads was recently passed by the Senate
No dollar figure for the tax has yet been specified in the bill’s current draft, which would take effect in 2021, with graduated increases every three years until 2030.
The tax outlined in the bill would be paid by wholesale distributors of fossil fuels, but could be passed on to retailers, utilities and consumers.
Revenue from the carbon tax would be go into six special funds for purposes such as energy security and environmental response.
The House could change the bill or defeat the measure.