State funding for a study of potential alternate traffic routes into Puna is once again on the table.
The Hawaii County Council’s Finance Committee voted Tuesday to recommend passage of Bill 131, a measure that would accept $1 million in state funds to develop a “Puna Alternate Routes Study,” and also allocate an additional $1 million in county funds to the project.
The bill is similar to a previous bill, Bill 107, which the council rejected in January due to concerns the study might consider Hawaiian home lands as potential sites for a major transit corridor.
Puna Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz, who introduced the latest bill, said Bill 107 “needed to die to give us a clean slate.”
“It’s nightmarish to think about what will happen if we’re hit by another natural disaster and people aren’t able to evacuate,” Kierkiewicz said.
While several Puna residents on Tuesday criticized the council for rejecting Bill 107 in the first place — “What kind of politician refuses $1 million for a free study?” exclaimed one testifier — Hamakua Councilwoman Heather Kimball defended the council’s actions.
“The council did what we were supposed to do, which is to legislate carefully and cautiously,” Kimball said. “People have called us a ‘clown show,’ but this council is very cautious. Bill 107 was flawed, it came to us flawed.”
However, Kimball also pushed back on testimony that praised Kierkiewicz and the council for “bringing the bill back,” noting council rules prohibit introducing a bill that is substantially similar to a previous bill rejected during the same council term.
“Words have meaning,” Kimball said, prompting committee chair and Puna Councilman Matt Kaneali‘i-Kleinfelder to rule that the two bills are substantially different.
The committee voted unanimously to forward the bill to the full council for discussion on Feb. 21.
Ka‘u Councilwoman Michelle Galimba was absent for Tuesday’s vote.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
