Broadband-related permits; automatic approval
HRS §46-89
in effect46-89. Broadband-related permits; automatic approval
(a) A county shall approve, approve with modification, or disapprove all applications for broadband-related permits within sixty days of submission of a complete permit application and full payment of any applicable fee. If, on the sixty-first day, an application is not approved, approved with modification, or disapproved by the county, the application shall be deemed approved by the county.
(b) Permits issued pursuant to this section
shall contain the following language: "This is a broadband-related permit
issued pursuant to section 46-89, Hawaii Revised Statutes."
(c) An applicant and a public utility shall
comply with all applicable safety and engineering requirements relating to the
installation, improvement, construction, or development of infrastructure
relating to broadband service or broadband technology.
(d) No action shall be prosecuted or
maintained against any county, its officials, or employees on account of
actions taken in reviewing, approving, modifying, or disapproving a permit
application pursuant to this section, or against public utilities resulting
from such actions.
(e) The sixty day time period established by
subsection (a) shall be extended in the event of a natural disaster, state
emergency, or union strike that prevents the applicant, agency, or department
from fulfilling application review requirements.
(f) If an application is incomplete, the
county agency shall notify the applicant in writing within ten business days of
submittal of the application. The notice shall inform the applicant of the
specific requirements necessary to complete the application. The sixty-first
day automatic approval provisions under subsection (a) shall continue to apply
to the application only if the applicant satisfies the specific requirements of
the notice and submits a complete application within five business days of receipt
of the notice.
(g) Nothing in this section shall affect the
provisions of section 3 of Act 151, Session Laws of Hawaii 2011.
(h) For the purposes of this section,
"broadband-related permits" means all county permits required to
commence actions with respect to the installation, improvement, construction,
or development of infrastructure relating to broadband service or broadband
technology, including the interconnection of telecommunications cables, cable
installation, tower construction, placement of broadband equipment in the road
rights-of-way, and undersea boring, or the landing of an undersea
communications cable. The term does not include any county permit for which
the approval of a federal agency is explicitly required pursuant to federal
law, rule, or regulation, prior to granting final permit approval by the
county.
[L 2013, c 264, §§2, 5; am L 2016, c 193, §2]
Source: Hawaii State Legislature (capitol.hawaii.gov), via Internet Archive capturesURL: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol02_Ch0046-0115/HRS0046/HRS_0046-0089.htmFetched: 11/10/2026