STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2397

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 2106

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2020

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred S.B. No. 2106 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CHILD PASSENGER RESTRAINTS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to increase the safety of children in cars in the State by requiring rear facing child safety seats for children under two years of age and raising fines for certain violations of child passenger restraint laws.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation and AAA Hawaii, LLC.

 

     Your Committee finds that currently, the State has no requirement that children of any age must be in a rear facing child safety seat.  Your Committee further finds that, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, infants and toddlers should ride in a rear-facing car safety seat as long as possible, until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their seat.  Your Committee further finds that currently, eleven other states have requirements that children under the age of two ride in rear-facing car safety seats.  This measure will align Hawaii with these states by requiring that children under the age of two ride in a rear-facing child safety seat when in a motor vehicle and provide stiffer penalties for those who violate this rule.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by requiring any child passenger restraint system safety class that a violator must attend, be approved, rather than conducted by the judiciary's division of driver education.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2106, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2106, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation,

 

 

 

________________________________

LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair