SB2839

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that an increasing number of helicopter tours at low altitudes over residential and agricultural communities on all major islands has become a public nuisance that negatively impacts residents' physical and mental health. A 2019 article in the Honolulu Civil Beat noted that several Big Island neighborhoods experience an average of fifteen to twenty helicopter flyovers each day, and up to eighty per day at peak periods, with mayor Harry Kim stating, "Their lifestyle is being infringed upon." According to a 2021 article in the Maui News, a Waihee Valley resident recorded as many as twenty helicopters an hour, an East Molokai resident observed seventy helicopters every day, and former Federal Aviation Administration employee Captain Bill Hawkins explained that "cognitive degeneration, hearing loss, increased stress or a larger carbon footprint are consequences of low-flying aircraft or aircraft that take longer routes to land." Further, a 1999 report by the National Resources Council states that helicopter noise can lead to sleep-deprivation and can cause cardiovascular and gastrointestinal problems, as well as reduced learning abilities among children.

The legislature further finds that Hawaii has had a sixty-seven per cent increase in helicopter tours in the past decade, with tens of thousands of flights annually. The National Park Service survey of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park found that helicopter noise is audible in ninety-eight per cent of the park's wilderness area, which can disturb wildlife and park visitors. Pursuant to a lawsuit filed by Hawaii Island Coalition Malama Pono, a non-profit whose purpose is to return "serenity to Hawaii free from tour helicopter noise nuisance pollution and safety from helicopter crashes", the U.S. Court of Appeals in 2020 ordered the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Park Service to comply with the National Park Air Tour Management Act of 2000, as amended, to require the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Park Service to develop air tour management plans, or enter into voluntary agreements with air tour operators, to limit the noise nuisance of helicopter tours over twenty-four national parks, including two in Hawaii.

The legislature further finds that regenerative tourism is an integral part of the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Plan; Act 146, Session Laws of Hawaii (2019), provides the legal guideline for all major state and county agencies and activities to support destination management and increase collaboration in responding to negative tourism impactions on Hawaii's communities. Every helicopter is equipped with technology that records its elevation and exact flight path, which enables the State to enforce certain restrictions, without impeding or supplanting the authority of the Federal Aviation Administration or hindering individual aviation rights. Accordingly, the purpose of this Act, which shall be referred to as the Good Neighbor Helicopter Act, is to reduce helicopter noise pollution by levying a tiered surcharge on certain helicopters that fly below a specified altitude range within a certain radius of residential and occupied agricultural and commercial areas.

SECTION 2. Chapter 235, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§235- Helicopter surcharge; exemptions. (a) There shall be levied, assessed, and collected the following surcharge on every helicopter that flies below the altitude of two thousand feet above ground level if the helicopter is within a mile radius of any residential area or occupied agricultural or commercial area:

(1) $ per quarter mile for any distance flown at an altitude of less than 2,499 feet above ground level;

(2) $ per quarter mile for any distance flown at an altitude between 2,500 – 3,499 feet above ground level; and

(3) $ per quarter mile for any distance flown at an altitude between 3,500 – 5,000 feet above ground level.

This surcharge shall apply regardless of whether the helicopter is transporting passengers and shall include pilotless and remotely operated helicopters.

(b) The surcharge imposed by this section shall not apply to:

(1) Military or emergency response helicopters;

(2) Interstate helicopter flights; or

(3) Any helicopter that emits exterior noise below fifty-five decibels when flying five hundred feet above ground level.

(1) Limit, regulate, or restrict helicopter flight paths;

(2) Tax the sale of helicopters or helicopter services; or

(3) Tax the gross receipts collected from the operation of helicopter commerce or transportation services."

SECTION 3. The department of transportation shall coordinate and cooperate with the department of taxation to adopt administrative rules, develop forms for reporting, and enforce the provisions of this Act.

SECTION 4. If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are severable.

SECTION 5. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2022.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2839
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
STATE OF HAWAII