House Speaker Scott Saiki has requested to kill a bill that he introduced that would have mandated state-wide travel rules, saying COVID-19 conditions have since changed.

Saiki said he asked House Finance Chairwoman Sylvia Luke to defer action on Senate Bill 266 when it goes before her committee today.

SB 266 would create a statewide “Safe Travels” policy, reversing what Saiki called Gov. David Ige’s “county-by-county approach to decision making.”

The bill is no longer necessary since Kauai has asked to be part of the state’s Safe Travels program and COVID-19 vaccines are more readily available, Saiki said.