STAND. COM. REP. NO.544

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2001

RE: H.B. No. 1547

H.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred H.B. No. 1547 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TOWING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to increase towing fees and mileage charges and expand times for overtime charges.

The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs offered comments on the bill. Two towing companies and the Hawaii State Towing Association spoke in favor of the bill.

Your Committee finds that the rise in gasoline prices, employee overhead costs and general inflation have raised the costs of towing companies. Towing services perform a variety of services including clearing no parking lanes and stalled cars, to prevent traffic backup. As road conditions become more congested because of the increase in motor vehicles, towing companies may be called upon more often by police and property owners.

Your Committee has amended this bill to correct a computer system data base error which inadvertently:

(1) Included statutory language from section 291C-135, Hawaii Revised Statutes, on page 1, lines 8-14 and page 4, lines 7-19 of the bill; and

(2) Excluded the penultimate sentence and portions of the prior sentence in section 290-11(b)(1), Hawaii Revised Statutes.

In addition, your Committee has deleted the word "everyday" from page 2, line 7, as unnecessary, since the overtime charge is a flat fee.

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. 1547, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1547, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

____________________________

JOSEPH M. SOUKI, Chair