King won’t vote on new biofuel tax

Council chairwoman is a founder of Pacific Biodiesel

WAILUKU -- Maui County Council Chairwoman Kelly King said she has not and will not take a formal vote on a resolution to approve fuel tax rates due to her business ties to Pacific Biodiesel.

She and her husband are founders and officers of the company, which sells biodiesel and biodiesel blends of fuel to customers.

King's comments came after public hearings Friday in Council Chambers in the county building on proposed motor vehicle weight tax and fuel tax rates. No action was taken; the resolutions will be taken up May 17 along with the budget for next fiscal year.

The vehicle weight and fuel tax resolutions only require one reading.

The vehicle weight tax hike got the most comments from the public Friday, and they were in opposition to increases. The council is mulling rate hikes, which include an increase from $0.035 to $0.037 per pound of net weight for passenger vehicles and trucks and noncommercial vehicles not exceeding 6,500 pounds.

Also proposed is an increase from $0.0536 to $0.0556 per pound of net weight for all other motor vehicles.

There will be no change to the $12 minimum tax for any motor vehicle. The penalty for delinquent taxes for passenger vehicles will rise from $8 to $16 and for other vehicles, from $20 to $40.

Testifier Liko Wallace from Molokai opposed the weight increases, saying it penalizes those who may have heavy vehicles that they need to live. She knows heavier vehicles offer more strain on roads, but added that most of her travel isn't on paved roads.

Because of Molokai's lifestyle, more people may have older heavy vehicles.

She also called for a motor vehicle registration payment kiosk, like ones recently opened on Maui. Molokai's staff is limited and lines are long during lunch hour when residents are free to pay their bills. Some residents walk away because the lines are too long and end up paying delinquent fees.

As for the fuel tax rates, the council is not making any changes over current rates for gasoline and diesel oil, which are 23 cents per gallon, biodiesel at $0; and ethanol, methanol and liquefied petroleum gas, all at 11.5 cents per gallon.

But a new category has been added -- biodiesel blend, which could see an 11.5 cents per gallon tax.

King said she would not take a vote on the fuel tax, but acknowledged after Friday's hearings that she has spoken on the council floor about the matter.

"You are allowed to speak on any issue," she said, noting that she has commented on the issue with encouragement from former budget chairman Riki Hokama in the past.

King said Pacific Biodiesel does produce both biodiesel and biodiesel blend. She said the company already has helped the county save around $2 million -- that was what the Environmental Protection Agency was going to fine Maui County had Pacific Biodiesel not come along during the late 1990s to remove grease trap waste and used cooking oil from the landfill.

Both former Mayor Alan Arakawa and Mayor Michael Victorino have proposed fuel taxes on biodiesel, but none have gone through. Victorino proposed a 12 cent per gallon tax for next fiscal year for biodiesel.

King said she felt those tax proposals were a "personal attack on me."

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.