STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: H.B. No. 5
                                     




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred H.B.
No. 5 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE STATEWIDE TRAFFIC CODE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill, as received by your Committee, is
to restrict the licensing of motorists and the registration or
transfer of motor vehicles by persons with outstanding traffic
bench warrants.

     Your Committee finds that drivers with outstanding bench
warrants can continue to renew their driver's licenses and
register or transfer their vehicles, pending disposition of their
cases which may take months because of backlogs of pending cases.
Your Committee further finds that drivers who fail to appear in
penal traffic cases must be physically arrested and prosecuted in
court, both of which are expensive processes.

     This bill proposes to prevent persons with outstanding
traffic bench warrants from obtaining or renewing their driver's
licenses, and from registering or transferring their motor
vehicles at the time a bench warrant is issued, thus increasing
compliance with the traffic code and reducing costs of coercing
compliance.

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                 STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3
                                 Page 2

 
     Testimonies in support of this bill were received from the
Police Department, City and County of Honolulu, and from a
citizen interested in reducing the backlog of traffic bench
warrants.

     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 H.B. No. 5
and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the
Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.

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



                                   ______________________________
                                   KENNETH T. HIRAKI, Chair