Gov. Linda Lingle has vetoed her first bill, telling the Legislature that she was rejecting a bill to exempt dune buggies from reconstructed vehicle laws. Lingle’s first veto rejects
dune buggy exemptionThe governor says she is
concerned about public safetyBy Richard Borreca
rborreca@starbulletin.comThe bill, SB 460, had passed both the House and Senate without amendments. It was introduced by Sen. Cal Kawamoto, chairman of the Transportation Committee.
The only objections to the measure were registered in the Senate, where Sens. Roz Baker, Kalani English, Carol Fukunaga, Lorraine Inouye and Shan Tsutsui voted against it.
In her veto message, Lingle said she objected to the bill for public safety reasons.
Dune buggies, Lingle said, are typically less expensive than most special interest vehicles and are more likely to be driven by young people.
"For the safety of those young people and the public generally, another category of unsafe vehicles on the public roads should not be permitted," Lingle said in her message to the Legislature.
"The public's safety should not be sacrificed simply for the sake of eliminating a perceived disparity between these different types of vehicles," Lingle said.
The bill would have allowed dune buggies to drive on public roads without having to comply with either federal safety standards or Hawaii reconstructed vehicle law.
"For instance, these vehicles would not be required to be equipped with important safety equipment, such as seat belts," Lingle said.
The Hawaii Volkswagen Club had testified in support of the bill.
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