Act 151

Act 151 (Session Laws of Hawaii 2011), as amended by Act 264 (Session Laws of Hawaii 2013) and Act 193 (Session Laws of Hawaii 2016) (as amended, “Act 151”), provides that certain actions relating to the installation, improvement, construction, or development of infrastructure relating to broadband service or broadband technology are exempt from county permitting requirements and state permitting and approval requirements.  A person or entity taking any action under Act 151 (“Applicant”) must provide notice to the Director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (“DCCA”) by electronic posting at least 30 calendar days before the action is taken in the form and on the State website page designated by the Director of DCCA (“Notice of Action”).

For purposes of Act 151, Notice of Action shall be deemed to be given when an Act 151 Notice of Action form (“Notice of Action Form”) is submitted in the manner described below and posted on DCCA’s “Act 151 Posted Notices of Action” web page.  The “Notice of Action Form” must appear on the “Act 151 Posted Notices of Action” web page for at least 30 calendar days prior to the date of the action to be taken.

Act 151 (PDF)

Act 264 (PDF) – Amends provisions of Act 151

Act 193 (PDF) – Amends provisions of Act 151


Notice of Action Form

Link to Act 151 Notice of Action Form

Applicant should submit a completed Notice of Action Form for posting in PDF format to DCCA, Cable Television Division (“CATV”), by email to [email protected].  Indicate Applicant’s name and “Act 151 Notice of Action” in the email subject line and in the title of the attached Notice of Action Form submitted (Example:  “[Applicant Name] – Act 151 Notice of Action”).

Applicant should not submit any other documents with the Notice of Action Form. Additional erroneously submitted document(s) in separate electronic file(s) from the Notice of Action Form will be deleted, and the Notice of Action Form will be posted without the document(s).  If any other document(s) is/are erroneously included in the same electronic file as the Notice of Action Form, the Notice of Action Form will be rejected for posting and returned to Applicant in its entirety.  Copies of any other document(s) submitted with the Notice of Action Form will not be retained by CATV.  Upon request by a state or county agency, Applicant is responsible for providing any required document(s) directly to the requesting agency.

DCCA/CATV shall not be liable for any damages of any nature whatsoever that may result from the inadvertent posting of erroneously submitted documents.


Posting

Notice of Action Forms received by CATV via email during normal business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) Monday through Friday, except State holidays (“State business days”), will be posted on the “Posted Act 151 Notices of Action” web page within 2 business days of receipt.  Notice of Action Forms received outside of State business days will be posted within 2 business days of the next State business day following receipt.

In the event of a natural disaster or other State emergency, or other circumstances beyond CATV’s control (e.g., a computer network outage, website downtime, etc.), submitted Notice of Action Forms will be posted as soon as practicable.

A Notice of Action Form will be rejected for posting and will be returned to Applicant if:

  • The Notice of Action Form is not sent by the method and medium designated above.
  • The Notice of Action Form is non-responsive because it:
    • Does not have the required certification by Applicant; or
    • Does not identify an action to be taken under Act 151, as amended.
  • Additional documents are included in the same electronic file as the Notice of Action Form submitted.

NOTE:   DCCA’s authority under Act 151 is limited only to designating (1) the form of the notice; and (2) the website for receiving and posting the notice.  Inquiries regarding applicability of Act 151 to a specific action should be directed to Applicant’s own legal counsel.


Posted Notices

Act 151 Notice of Action Forms are posted on the linked “Posted Act 151 Notices of Action” web page.

NOTE:  THE FAILURE OF ANY STATE OR COUNTY AGENCY TO OBJECT TO A POSTED NOTICE SHOULD NOT BE DEEMED TO BE AN AUTOMATIC APPROVAL OF THE ACTION POSTED.  AN APPLICANT FILING A NOTICE OF ACTION FORM MUST ENSURE THAT THE ACTION FALLS WITHIN THE PROVISIONS OF ACT 151 AND THAT THE APPLICANT IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH ALL OTHER APPLICABLE LAWS, RULES, AND REGULATIONS.  FAILURE TO DO SO MAY RESULT IN APPROPRIATE REMEDY BEING TAKEN BY STATE AND/OR COUNTY PERMITTING AND APPROVAL AUTHORITIES