[ OUR OPINION ]
Make sure the city can
win ticket fightTHE City Council picked up a new weapon in its war with the state over revenue from traffic tickets. But before stepping onto the battlefield, Council members should check to see if it's properly loaded. If not, they will lose the leverage they need to pry the money loose.
THE ISSUE
The Honolulu City Council has approved a plan to issue administrative citations with discounted fines in lieu of state traffic tickets.
The Council this week approved a plan proposed by member Charles Djou to have Honolulu police issue administrative citations for traffic violations instead of the state-administered tickets they normally give out. Drivers who do not contest the city's citation will pay $10 less that the amount the state sets for such tickets, an incentive that would send revenue to the city's bank account when ordinarily it would go to state coffers.
The Star-Bulletin's Crystal Kua reports that the plan is similar to ones that cities and towns in Minnesota started to harvest fines that had been controlled by that state.
As in Minnesota, municipalities in Hawaii have the responsibility of issuing traffic tickets and paying the police officers to do the deeds. However, the state keeps the fine revenue.
Hawaii officials say the fines finance the court system through which the tickets are administered. The counties argue that when a ticket isn't challenged, court costs are minimal and they should get the money to help pay for their police forces.
Djou's tactic to issue civil citations would allow drivers to pay a discounted fine. The violation would not show up on drivers' records, possibly dodging increases in their insurance rates. Of course, insurance companies won't be happy.
Neither will the state, which could stand to lose as much as $5 million to $10 million annually. Djou hopes this prospect will prompt the Legislature to respond to the city's and the neighbor island counties' yearly request to share the revenue with them.
The city does face hurdles. The Council must make clear in which circumstances a police officer can opt to hand out the city's ticket and who will forward the state's ticket if the driver doesn't pay or contests the charge. There also is a question about whether the city can adopt an ordinance that technically overrides state laws.
Djou is certain that the city has the authority, arguing that if it can issue a civil fine for building-permit violations, it can fine a driver for parking illegally. He should seek clarification and make sure he's on firm legal ground. Otherwise, the city might be shooting blanks.
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Busy summer will put
screeners to testHAWAII'S tourism industry can look forward to a fast-approaching summer that is expected to be the busiest for air travel since before Sept. 11, 2001. Unfortunately, the increased activity is likely to cause more delays, longer lines and more frustration by travelers. Federal officials say they will monitor the activity at Honolulu Airport and 24 other busy airports and send extra help if needed. Travelers soon will learn whether the government is prepared to cope with gridlock.
THE ISSUE
Federal officials plan to monitor the nation's airports this summer and send in extra help if needed to deal with delays caused by security.
Air travelers have been more likely in recent months to complain about airport security than about bland food, rude check-in agents or lost luggage. The most recent report by the U.S. Transportation Department shows that four times as many people complained about security screening than about airlines, travel agents and other concerns combined. That trend is likely to continue, as the Air Transport Association expects airlines will carry 65 million passengers during each summer month, a 12 percent increase over last summer.
"While more passengers and more flights are healthy signs that the airline industry is regaining strength, they also signal more air traffic delays, longer security lines, more inconvenience and more passenger frustration," says Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the House Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation. "Airline travel is rapidly returning to the airport congestion and crowded airways of 2001."
The Transportation Security Administration, created to replace minimum-wage screeners working for private companies with a new federal workforce, has stumbled in trying to keep up with consumer demand. Mica says screener vacancies have been as high as 20 percent at some airports, including Los Angeles. At others, airport managers have complained that screeners can be seen idling at midday while long lines curl through terminals during peak hours.
Stephen McHale, the TSA's deputy director, told Mica's committee this week that screeners should get passengers through checkpoints 20 percent faster this summer. In addition to the monitoring, he said, the agency will deploy "divestiture coaches" to inform travelers at airports about what they need to do at checkpoints. The TSA will be put to the test during the Memorial Day weekend, and it will quickly become apparent whether Mica's skepticism is warranted.
