State lawmakers shelved a bill that would have tacked on $1 to motor vehicle registration fees in an effort to better enforce and curb abuse of the state’s parking program for people with disabilities.
House Finance Committee members were concerned that the bill would be an additional burden for car owners already paying increased vehicle registration fees as a result of several bills passed last year.
"A lot of us are getting emails from our constituents that are extremely upset," Rep. Sharon Har (D, Makakilo-Kapolei) said during a hearing Friday. "The majority of people don’t violate, and it’s unfortunate that a few bad apples do and now we’re here trying to raise the registration fee against everybody who owns a vehicle."
Francine Wai, executive director of the Disability and Communication Access Board, said she believes tapping into motor vehicle registration fees is an appropriate way to pay for enforcement.
"Right now we do pay for the program out of general funds, which means that everybody pays a little bit for the program," she said. "What we really want to do is … to target the people who have cars because only cars can park in accessible parking stalls."
Rep. Marcus Oshiro (D, Wahiawa-Poamoho), chairman of the House Finance Committee, said he doesn’t have any particular concerns about the bill, but he deferred it to explore other ways for funding.
He said he will hear a bill next week, House Bill 2253, that would allow the disability board to charge fees for consultation services it provides, such as reviewing blueprints and plans for government or private agencies to make sure they comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"They do a very important service, we all know that," Oshiro said. "So it’s just looking at these different options right now."
Wai said she is disappointed the bill was deferred.
"There’s nothing different from last year and this year other than the fact that they raised the motor vehicle registration fee last year," she said.
Wai said the 2011 version of the bill made it out of conference committee, but it was struck down at the last minute because its effective date didn’t line up with the effective date of the bill that raised the motor vehicle registration fee to $45 to generate additional highway funding.
Glenn Nakamura, a beneficiary of the parking program, said he is also upset the bill was deferred this year because he sees widespread abuse of handicap parking stalls.
"The only difference is that this year is an election year," he said. "Instead of the House doing the right thing, they did the selfish thing and deferred this bill again."
