Chelsea Davis, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - A new proposal aims to help police with parking enforcement in Hawaii.
House Bill 601 would allow any county employee to cite people for traffic violations along state highways.
House Transportation Committee member Rep. Nadine Nakamura introduced the bill. She said the idea stemmed from parking problems at Haena State Park on Kauai’s North Shore.
"What this bill does is it allows the police chief to use non-police officers to cite cars that may be illegally parked or have other traffic violations," said Nakamura.
Nakamura said illegal parking along state highways is an issue all over the state, naming Laniakea Beach on Oahu’s North Shore as another example.
"Uh, where are the no parking signs?" asked Laniakea Beach surfer Apollo Fleming.
Fleming said it is as if the warning signs don’t exist at Laniakea Beach on Oahu’s North Shore.
"I don’t think people really abide by the no parking signs because no one seems to enforce it," said surfer Lucas Godfrey.
HB601 would authorize police chiefs to designate other county employees to issue citations.
Bicycle enthusiasts like Chad Taniguchi said it’s a great idea.
"Following the rules of the road is super important for safety and when people park the wrong way or in the wrong place, they actually create a safety hazard because if you’re walking or biking, you might have to go around the wrong parked car and then you might get hit," Taniguchi said.
The largest public worker union in Hawaii, the Hawaii Government Employees Association (HGEA), said writing tickets is not a daily function for positions outside of law enforcement and said only law enforcement officers have the skill set to enforce violation. They also said it raises issues of liability.
"I feel like the state really needs to give us better options than that and not just try to restrict us and ticket us," Godfrey said.
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