Broadband-related permits; automatic approval
HRS §27-45
in effect27-45. Broadband-related permits; automatic approval
(a) The State 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; provided that this subsection shall not apply to a conservation district use application for broadband facilities. If, on the sixty-first day, an application is not approved, approved with modification, or disapproved by the State, the application shall be deemed approved by the State.
(b) The State shall approve, approve with
modification, or disapprove use applications for broadband facilities within
the conservation district within one hundred forty-five days of submission of a
complete application and full payment of any applicable fee. If, on the one
hundred forty-sixth day, an application is not approved, approved with
modification, or disapproved by the State, the application shall be deemed
approved by the State.
(c) Permits issued pursuant to this section
shall contain the following language: "This is a broadband-related permit
issued pursuant to section 27-45, Hawaii Revised Statutes."
(d) 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.
(e) No action shall be prosecuted or
maintained against the State, 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.
(f) 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.
(g) If an application is incomplete, the State
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.
(h) Nothing in this section shall affect the
provisions of section 3 of Act 151, Session Laws of Hawaii 2011.
(i) For the purposes of this section,
"broadband-related permits" means all state 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 state 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 State.
[L
2013, c 264, §§1, 5; am L 2016, c 193, §2]
Source: Hawaii State Legislature (capitol.hawaii.gov), via Internet Archive capturesURL: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol01_Ch0001-0042F/HRS0027/HRS_0027-0045.htmFetched: 11/10/2026