Vehicles pose a real safety and environmental
hazard to communities
Rep. Cedric Asuega Gates (Waiʻanae, Mākaha, Mākua, Māʻili) believes abandoned vehicles are not only an eye sore in our
communities because they litter our beautiful ʻaina, but more significantly, they pose a real safety and environmental
hazard. The city and counties have taken steps to address this issue, but due
to limited resources and lack of a mandate, many cars remain on public roads
and in parks, endangering the public. Therefore, Rep. Gates has introduced HB 2442 to require the counties dispose of all abandoned vehicles within 10
business days of being reported.
"The law now states that the counties
'may' dispose of abandoned vehicles. In my bill we change this to 'shall'
dispose of abandoned vehicles within 10 days," Gates said. "This
legal change will require the counties to deal with these safety and
environmental hazards in a timely manner."
Another bill that Rep. Gates cosponsored, HB 2267, provides funds to the state and counties to develop a partnership to
deal with abandoned vehicles.
"I believe these measures are important
as more funding and space is needed for storage, but a requirement of having to
remove the vehicles must be included in any bill that is passed to see real
change," said Gates. "In the future I would also like to see a state
sponsored junk yard where people can deliver their unwanted vehicles and
receive money for the scrap value of any material exchanged."
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