HB2566 HD1

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2566
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO SPECIAL LICENSE PLATES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that for over eighty years, the civil air patrol has assisted emergency management agencies throughout the nation with response and recovery efforts during and after disasters. The civil air patrol is a non-profit organization and an auxiliary of the United States Air Force. Its missions include emergency services, aerospace education, and cadet programs. Members of the civil air patrol are volunteers who serve as pilots, scanners, and ground crew in fulfilling its mission.

The legislature further finds that the civil air patrol's emergency response and recovery activities include but are not limited to search and rescue, damage assessments, aerial photographs of affected areas, alerts and notifications, and transportation of supplies. For instance, the civil air patrol conducted aerial reconnaissance for the State after the severe weather incident in December 2021. The photographs were instrumental in documenting the damage to roadways and bridges on the island of Maui and were included in the State's application for a federal disaster declaration. Similar missions were conducted during the Kilauea volcanic eruptions on the island of Hawaii and during flood events on Kauai.

When the State has been threatened by a tsunami in the past, the civil air patrol has been called upon to alert remote areas that are not served by the outdoor alert system through speakers that are mounted to civil air patrol aircraft. During the Maui wildfires in August 2023, members of the civil air patrol were in the emergency operations center assisting the Maui emergency management agency and the Federal Aviation Administration in enforcing temporary flight restrictions.

As the volunteer members of the civil air patrol respond to emergencies, a civil air patrol special license plate, referred to in state law as a special number plate, would help make its members more readily identifiable by police and other first responder agencies, thereby allowing passage through roadways that may be closed to the public. During a tsunami warning, civil air patrol pilots, under the direction of the Hawaii emergency management agency, often rush to their planes to take off and provide alerts and notifications to the public. Although civil air patrol members carry appropriate identification, the sight of a civil air patrol special number plate on a vehicle may assist in more quickly identifying the individual as a member of the civil air patrol.

Therefore, the purpose of this Act is to authorize the issuance of special number plates for members of the Hawaii civil air patrol.

SECTION 2. Chapter 249, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§249- Special number plates; civil air patrol. (a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the director of finance shall provide, for a fee, one set of special number plates upon the receipt of an application together with specific proof that the applicant was or is a member of the Hawaii civil air patrol.

(b) The design of the plates for former and current Hawaii civil air patrol shall include the words "HAWAII CIVIL AIR PATROL". This designation shall be imprinted on the left side of the license plates in a manner similar to congressional and honorary consul license plates.

(c) Registration certificates and license plates issued under this section shall not be transferable to any other person. Special number plates for service in the Hawaii civil air patrol shall be assigned to a noncommercial passenger motor vehicle, a noncommercial motorcycle, or motor scooter registered in the name of the qualified applicant. Prior to the transfer of the ownership of the qualified person's vehicle to another party, the special number plates shall be surrendered to the director of finance as a condition to the issuance of replacement special number plates; provided that the director of finance shall allow the survivor of the qualified person, upon request, to retain the front special number plate as a memorial.

(d) The director of finance shall authorize the design of a license plate that is readily identifiable and distinguishable under actual traffic conditions and shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to carry out this section."

SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.