STAND. COM. REP. NO. 66

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.B. No. 86

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred H.B. No. 86 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to improve the statewide transportation system by requiring the Director of the State Department of Transportation to conduct a study of the feasibility of authorizing toll roads for motor vehicle traffic in the state.

The Department of Transportation testified in support of this measure. The Hawaii Transportation Association supported the intent of this measure.

Your Committee finds that a large majority of the State's highway system was built over 30 years ago. This aging infrastructure continues to be a concern to motorists and government officials. Moreover, the increase in population, registered motor vehicles, and usage of the highway system has far outpaced the ability to maintain highways at peak performance levels.

Although many states across the country have been implementing toll systems for decades, and it has often been contended that toll systems provide a dedicated source of revenue for heavily used highways and roads, the necessity for a toll system in Hawaii, as well as the financial, environmental, and other ramifications of a toll system for Hawaii, is not known. Your Committee finds that obtaining this information prior to proceeding headlong into the establishment of a toll system is the prudent approach.

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. 86 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

 

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

 

____________________________

JOSEPH M. SOUKI, Chair