§271-35  Agreements between carriers. (a)  For purposes of this section the term "antitrust laws" means anylaw of the State previously enacted or hereafter enacted pertaining to unlawfulrestraints of trade and monopolies.

(b)  Any carrier party to an agreement betweenor among two or more carriers relating to rates, fares, classifications,divisions, allowances, or charges (including charges between carriers andcompensation paid or received for the use of facilities and equipment), orrules and regulations pertaining thereto, or procedures for the jointconsideration, initiation, or establishment thereof, may, under such rules andregulations as the public utilities commission may prescribe, apply to thecommission for approval of the agreement, and the commission shall by orderapprove any agreement (if approval thereof is not prohibited by subsections (d)or (e)) if it finds that, by reason of furtherance of the transportation policydeclared in this chapter, the relief provided in subsection (h) should applywith respect to the making and carrying out of the agreement; otherwise theapplication shall be denied.  The approval of the commission shall be grantedonly upon such terms and conditions as the commission may prescribe asnecessary to enable it to grant its approval in accordance with the standardabove set forth in this subsection.

(c)  Each conference, bureau, committee, orother organization established or continued pursuant to any agreement approvedby the commission under this section shall maintain such accounts, records,files, and memoranda and shall submit to the commission such reports, as may beprescribed by the commission, and all the accounts, records, files, andmemoranda shall be subject to inspection by the commission or its dulyauthorized representatives.

(d)  The commission shall not approve underthis section any agreement between or among carriers of different classesunless it finds that the agreement is of the character described in subsection(b) of this section and is limited to matters relating to transportation underjoint rates or over through routes; and for purposes of this subsectioncarriers by aircraft are carriers of one class; carriers by motor vehicles arecarriers of one class; carriers by water are carriers of one class.

(e)  The commission shall not approve underthis section any agreement which establishes a procedure for the determinationof any matter through joint consideration unless it finds that under theagreement there is accorded to each party the free and unrestrained right totake independent action either before or after any determination arrived atthrough such procedure.

(f)  The commission is authorized, uponcomplaint or upon its own initiative without complaint, to investigate anddetermine whether any agreement previously approved by it under this section,or terms and conditions upon which the approval was granted, is not or are notin conformity with the standard set forth in subsection (b), or whether anysuch terms and conditions are not necessary for purposes of conformity with thestandard, and, after the investigation, the commission shall by order terminateor modify its approval of the agreement if it finds the action necessary toinsure conformity with the standard, and shall modify the terms and conditionsupon which the approval was granted to the extent it finds necessary to insureconformity with the standard or to the extent to which it finds the terms andconditions not necessary to insure such conformity.  The effective date of anyorder terminating or modifying approval, or modifying terms and conditions,shall be postponed for such period as the commission determines to bereasonably necessary to avoid undue hardship.

(g)  No order shall be entered under thissection except after interested parties have been afforded reasonableopportunity for hearing.

(h)  Parties to any agreement approved by thecommission under this section and other persons are, if the approval of suchagreement is not prohibited by subsection (d) or (e), relieved from theoperation of the antitrust laws with respect to the making of such agreement,and with respect to the carrying out of the agreement in conformity with itsprovisions and in conformity with the terms and conditions prescribed by the commission.

(i)  Any action of the commission under thissection in approving an agreement or in denying an application for suchapproval, or in terminating or modifying its approval of an agreement, or inprescribing the terms and conditions upon which its approval is to be granted,or in modifying such terms and conditions, shall be construed as having effectsolely with reference to the applicability of the relief provisions ofsubsection (h). [L 1961, c 121, pt of §2; am L 1963, c 193, §35; Supp, §106C-33;HRS §271-35]

 

Case Notes

 

  Hawaii household goods movers no longer exempt fromInterstate Commerce Commission regulation.  395 F. Supp. 261.