Gov. Linda Lingle says the counties deserve a share of the fines resulting from traffic and parking citations they issue. Lingle proposes sharing
traffic fines with countiesShe intends to meet with
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Mayor Harris to discuss
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By Crystal Kua
ckua@starbulletin.com"We're not losing it (revenue from the fines). It's just going where it should be," Lingle said.
Answering a wide range of questions yesterday, the former Maui County mayor said she will consult with her budget director and lawmakers to determine what percentage of the traffic fines -- especially on tickets that are not contested in court -- should be given to the counties.
Such a bill, Lingle said, should be well received by "home rule advocates" in the Legislature.
The counties have long sought some of the revenue. Although the counties issue the citations, the state gets all the revenue through fines received through the courts.
"The counties pay for the police officers. They're the ones who maintain the county roads, and it's reasonable that some percentage of that money go to the counties," she said.
Lingle said she has a meeting scheduled with Mayor Jeremy Harris next week, and the major topic will be transportation issues.
Lingle said U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye is encouraging the state and city to come up with one plan to alleviate traffic on Oahu to have a better chance of gaining federal funding.
She maintained her opposition to the city's Bus Rapid Transit plan.
"We're both going to look out for what we think is the best interest, and we know there has to be some coming together," Lingle said.
Meanwhile, Lingle said she is still monitoring the nurses strike, especially the situation with the dialysis treatment at St. Francis Hospital.
"That is our primary focus and concern right now," she said.
She also said it is an opportunity for a governor to sit down with both sides and look at public health and safety and ask them to "make some adjustment" while continuing to resolve other issues through collective bargaining.
State of Hawaii
