The Helicopter Association International has filed a lawsuit against the Hawaiian State government, arguing that S.B. 3272 (Now Act 311) exceeds State Authority and that the Hawaii Department of Transportation “has no authority to impose or enforce regulations regarding air space and aircraft operations under the jurisdiction of the Federal Aviation Administration”.
Hawai’i Governor David Ige has indicated that he intended to veto the Bill because it strays into areas that are managed via Federal regulation, so the Association was surprised that he chose to sign the Bill into law “because it violates the doctrine of preemption, which reserves certain activities, such as airspace regulation, to the federal government”.
