Press Coverage of Jones Act reform resolutions introduced in Hawaii State House

by Michael Hansen, Hawaii Shippers Council

A pair of companion resolutions calling on Congress to enact a limited Jones Act exemption for the Hawaii and three other noncontiguous domestic trades was introduced in the Hawaii State House of Representatives on March 13, 2013. 

The resolutions – House Concurrent Resolution 150 (HSC150) and House Resolution 119 (HR119) – are both entitled “Requesting Congress to Exempt the Noncontiguous Domestic Trades of Alaska, Hawaii, And Puerto Rico from the United States Build Requirement of the Jones Act for Large Oceangoing Ships.”

The introduction of the resolutions garnered substantial press coverage in Hawaii, Guam and nationally.

Five of articles covering the introduction of the resolutions are copied below and are as follows: 

On the national level, the American Shipper Magazine, a leading national publication reporting on transportation, posted an article covering introduction of the resolutions on March 22, 2013.  (Because the article is behind the American Shipper’s pay-wall, you may not be able to access it directly.) The American Shipper Magazine takes the point-of-view of shippers, i.e., the cargo owners, a.k.a. as consignors. They are the shippers of goods.  Shippers tender their cargo or goods to a carrier that is the transporter of goods.  Carriers include ocean carriers, air carriers, railroads and trucking companies.

In Hawaii, introduction of the resolutions were covered by three print publications.  On Saturday, March 23nd, by the newspaper of record in Hawaii with by far the largest statewide circulation, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, ran an article in their business section.  (This article is also behind a pay-wall.)

Also, on March 23rd, the West Hawaii Today, which is a newspaper based in Kailua-Kona and serving the West side of Hawaii Island (also known as the Big Island), covered the Jones Act proposal underlying the resolution in conjunction with release of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the economic impact of the Jones Act on Puerto Rico.   The West Hawaii Today is one of two print newspapers on Hawaii Island, the other, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald, is published in Hilo on the east side of the island.

The most widely circulated print business newspaper in Hawaii, the Pacific Business News, carried a story on the introduction of the resolutions on Monday, March 25th.

The Pacific News Center in Guam covered the introduction on March 24th noting the limited Jones Act exemption the resolution calls for has already be granted to Guam. However, because the liner container services operating from the U.S. West Coast to Guam depend on calls at Honolulu to generate sufficient cargo to sustain a Transpacific voyage, the existing Guam  exemption provides very limited benefit.  As such, Guam would benefit from the U.S. build exemption being extended to Hawaii too.  The Pacific News Center is operated by Sorenson Media Group and is a central news gathering center for the local Fox and ABC affiliate TV stations and News Talk K57 Radio.

The resolutions have been referred first to the Hawaii State House Committees on Transportation (TRN) and Economic Development & Business (EDB) for a joint hearing.  We currently awaiting the committee chairmen to schedule a hearing.

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