STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3153

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                   

 

RE:     H.B. No. 1767

        H.D. 2

        S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committees on Transportation and Energy and Higher Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 1767, H.D. 2, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATED TO MOTOR VEHICLES,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to prohibit any vehicle, except low-range, four-wheel drive vehicles, from being driven through or in Waipio Valley or the Mauna Kea Science Reserve, except under certain circumstances.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Maunakea Management, one Hawaii County councilmember, Maunakea Observatories Support Services, Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Corp., and four individuals.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

 

     Your Committees find that the largely unregulated vehicular access to the Maunakea summit and Waipio Valley floor has resulted in serious public safety concerns, primarily among vehicles that are ill-equipped to drive in these areas.  Not only are ill-equipped vehicles at risk, but these vehicles can affect the gravel road, putting extra burden on the road crew who need to grade the road more often.

 

     Your Committees further find that residents with a disability or their families often have a vehicle which has been modified to provide ingress and egress by the person with a disability.  These modifications often add additional weight to the vehicle, which results in these residents paying more in state and county motor vehicle weight taxes in comparison to residents with non-modified vehicles.  Your Committees believe that there is a need to address this hardship by excluding the weight of disability access modifications from the determination of net weight for state and county motor vehicle weight taxes.

 

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Adding a part II by inserting the contents of S.B. No. 2714, S.D. 1, which was previously passed by the Senate, and amends the definition of "net weight" to exclude the weight of any vehicle modifications made to assist a person with a disability;

 

     (2)  Inserting an effective date of January 1, 2100, to encourage further discussion; and

 

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     Your Committees request that should your Committee on Ways and Means choose to consider this measure, that your Committee on Ways and Means hold a public hearing on this measure to allow testimony to be heard on the newly included part II, rather than holding a hearing for decision-making only.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Transportation and Energy and Higher Education that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1767, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1767, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

 


Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Transportation and Energy and Higher Education,

 

________________________________

KAIALI'I KAHELE, Chair

 

________________________________

LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair