Councilman Michael Molina, who introduced the measure, said he hopes to have a public works committee hearing on the bill on Oct. 14 and hopes to have it passed by the council before the end of the year.

The bill would require shields and low sodium pressure bulbs for outdoor lighting of new developments.

The shields would direct the light downward instead of into the night sky, and low sodium pressure bulbs emit a narrow spectrum of light that can be filtered out of astronomical viewing.

The bill calls for retrofitting of shields and low-pressure sodium lights on public and private streets and parking lots and for resorts to comply with the new standards once their old lighting systems need replacement, Molina said.

He said his public works committee may revise the bill to allow a mixture of lighting in various locations, mainly focusing on reducing the glare of lights on Haleakala near the observatories.

Increasing urban light pollution is threatening the quality of astronomer's work at the Haleakala summit, said Jeanne Skog, a spokeswoman for high technology on Maui.

Research at the summit has helped to diversify Maui's tourist-based economy, and has helped create a $140 million industry, she said.

The Maui Police Department is concerned that reducing the use of conventional street lights could increase the number of traffic accidents and make crime detection difficult.

Police Capt. George Fontaine said the department opposes the use of low-sodium lights because there is a difficulty in determining the color of vehicles and of the clothes of a suspect.

The Big Island has had a dark sky lighting ordinance since 1988.

Big Island Police Assistant Chief Elroy Osorio said he can't recall ever hearing about the low-sodium pressure lights affecting police work.

But Osorio said sometimes the colors of cars appear different under sodium light than under natural light.

Compared to the natural light after daylight, the night sky is roughly 20 to 30% brighter on the northeast side of the summit, where urbanization is occurring, said University of Hawaii astronomer Richard Wainscoat.

According to the International Astronomical Union, the night sky should be no more than 10% brighter than the natural light, Wainscoat said.