Bill Text: HI HB1702 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Public Roads; Jurisdictional Dispute; Resolution Process
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-05-11 - Carried over to 2010 Regular Session. [HB1702 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2010-HB1702-Introduced.html
Report Title:
Public Roads; Jurisdictional Dispute; Resolution Process
Description:
Allows any person to file for a contested case hearing to determine jurisdiction over a public road and establishes the determination process.
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
1702 |
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TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to public roads.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Section 26-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (f) to read as follows:
"(f) The director of commerce and
consumer affairs may appoint a hearings officer or officers not subject to
chapter 76 to hear and decide any case or controversy regarding licenses and
the application and enforcement of rules involving any of the boards,
commissions, or regulatory programs within the department of commerce and
consumer affairs[.] and any contested case application filed pursuant
to section 264‑ . The hearings officer or officers
shall have power to issue subpoenas, administer oaths, hear testimony, find
facts, and make conclusions of law and a recommended decision; provided that
the conclusions and decisions shall be subject to review and redetermination by
the officer, board, or commission which would have heard the case in the first
instance in the absence of a hearings officer. The review shall be conducted
in accordance with chapter 91."
SECTION 2. Chapter 264, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part I to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§264- Public roads; determination of jurisdiction; process; appeal. (a) Whenever there is confusion or dispute regarding the existence of or jurisdiction over a public road, any person may file an application for determination with the department of commerce and consumer affairs as a contested case pursuant to section 91-9. The application shall be transmitted to the adverse parties to the contested case who shall be the department of transportation, the department of land and natural resources, and the appropriate corporation counsel or county attorney of the county within which the road is located.
(b) Any hearings officer appointed by the director of commerce and consumer affairs pursuant to section 26-9(f) shall have jurisdiction to review and determine the application made under this section.
(c) The contested case hearing shall be open to the public and held no later than one hundred eighty days after the receipt of the transmission of an application under subsection (a). A final, written decision on the application shall be issued no later than one hundred eighty days after the commencement of the hearing. The hearings officer shall have power to issue subpoenas, administer oaths, hear testimony, find facts, make conclusions of law, and issue a written decision that shall be final and conclusive unless a person or governmental entity adversely affected by the decision appeals to the circuit court of the circuit in which the road is located pursuant to section 91-14.
(d) The applicant initiating proceedings under this section shall have the burden of proof, including the burden of producing evidence as well as the burden of persuasion. The degree or quantum of proof shall be a preponderance of the evidence. All parties to the proceeding shall be afforded an opportunity to present oral or written evidence, conduct cross-examination as may be required, and argue all issues involved. The rules of evidence shall apply.
(e) The hearings officer shall ensure that a record of each proceeding that includes the following is compiled:
(1) All pleadings, motions, intermediate rulings;
(2) Evidence received or considered, including oral testimony, exhibits, and a statement of matters officially noticed;
(3) Offers of proof and rulings;
(4) Proposed findings of fact; and
(5) A recording of the proceeding.
(f) The hearings officer shall decide whether a public road is a state highway, county highway, public trail, or nonpublic right-of-way under section 264-1 and shall order any relief that may be appropriate.
(g) The director of transportation shall adopt rules in accordance with chapter 91 to ensure that the proceedings conducted pursuant to this section afford all parties an opportunity to be heard; provided that no rule may place any additional financial burden on any person other than those necessary to comply with the requirements of this section.
(h) If a hearing is not commenced within one hundred eighty days after the receipt of the transmission of an application or if a final written decision is not issued within one hundred eighty days of the start of the hearing, any person may file a declaratory action in the circuit court of the circuit in which the road is located to determine jurisdiction over a road; provided that the person shall have standing to sue and the State shall be deemed to have waived sovereign immunity."
SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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