Bill Would Require Removal of Abandoned Vehicles in 10 Days

The Hawai‘i House of Representatives announces that 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.

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“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.”