Originally Posted by starbulletin

Sports car owners and those with cars with modified bumpers will get a break under a new law signed yesterday by Gov. Linda Lingle.

House Bill 1427 drops state requirements for the heights of automobile headlights and license plates. The height of car headlights, which sometimes is changed when owners raise or lower the car's bumpers, is already set by federal law at a minimum of 22 inches, while state law had set the minimum at 24 inches.

State law had also set the minimum license plate height at 12 inches, but the House Transportation Committee noted that some low-slung sports cars have license plates lower than that.

Lingle also signed into law HB 1158, which allows special enhanced sentencing for arsonists charged with setting brush fires smaller than 10,000 square feet.

The old law, passed to discourage brush fires, had set the limit at 10,000 square feet or more.

Lingle also signed into law HB 613, which increases the state Veterans Services Advisory Board to nine from seven members and makes the Office of Veterans Affairs director a voting member.

Also signed into law yesterday was HB 1393, which permits government agencies to delete home addresses before disclosing payroll and contracting records.