STAND.
COM. REP. NO. 295
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2021
RE: H.B. No. 1062
H.D. 1
Honorable Scott K. Saiki
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2021
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 1062 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSES,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The
purpose of this measure is to:
(1) Clarify the validity period of a commercial learner's permit; and
(2) Bring the State into substantial compliance with federal regulations requiring entry level driver training for certain first-time commercial driver license applicants.
Your Committee finds that, on December 8, 2016, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a final rule that amends title 49 Code of Federal Regulations part 380, subpart F to require entry-level driver training for certain applicants for commercial driver's licenses or endorsements (Final Rule).
The Final Rule also requires states to be in substantial compliance with the Final Rule within three years from the date the Final Rule became effective, which was February 6, 2017. The date for compliance was extended to February 7, 2022, through an interim final rule. If a state fails to be in substantial compliance with the Final Rule, the federal government is authorized to withhold certain federal funding. In the first year a state fails to be in substantial compliance, four percent of certain federal funds are withheld; for Hawaii, this would be equivalent to $6,185,220. In subsequent years a state fails to be in substantial compliance, eight percent of certain federal funds are withheld; for Hawaii, this would be equivalent to $12,370,440. This measure will bring Hawaii into substantial compliance with the Final Rule.
Your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Clarifying that the validity period for a commercial learner's permit begins on the date the permit was issued for applicants who are not required to take a knowledge test;
(2) Inserting a grandfather clause allowing persons holding a valid commercial learner's permit or commercial driver's license that was obtained before February 7, 2022, to be exempt from the entry-level driver training requirements;
(3) Specifying that the entry-level driver training must be verified with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Training Provider Registry;
(4) Changing the effective date to January 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and
(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1062, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1062, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce,
|
|
____________________________ AARON LING JOHANSON, Chair |
|
|
|