Military veterans 65 and older on Oʻahu will be given a $20 exemption from their annual vehicle registrations.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi has signed a bill that makes the exemption a city law. It will go into effect next July.
Blangiardi signed the bill on Monday, ahead of Veterans Day. While the city says annual vehicle registrations are normally around $450, the mayor says the bill is another effort to help the city's veterans.
“We have some 13,000 veterans, aged 65 years or older on the island of Oʻahu. More than 7% of them are living under the poverty level. I think in the spirit of this, maybe being just one more effort to try to make a difference, little things mean a lot, every bit helps. I don’t want to overstate anything. I also don't want to understate it because this is tied to our veterans who we have great respect for," Blangiardi said.
Qualifying veterans can exempt one vehicle per year.
The city says the new law will cost the city an estimated $280,000 in revenue a year.
The Honolulu Department of Customer Services is still working out eligibility requirements for veterans who are interested in signing up for the exemption.
