STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1462

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.B. No. 150

H.D. 2

S.D. 2

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 150, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DRIVER LICENSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish a graduated provisional licensing program for persons under the age of eighteen.

Specifically, this measure:

(1) Establishes that a person at least sixteen years of age but under the age of eighteen may be granted a provisional license subject to certain requirements;

(2) Limits the number of passengers as well as the hours of operation for drivers with a provisional license, subject to certain exceptions relating to travelling to and from employment or school-related functions; and

(3) Creates penalties, including suspension and revocation of the provisional license, for violating passenger limits and operating a motor vehicle between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. without appropriate verification from a parent or employer or if the provisional licensee is not accompanied by a licensed parent or guardian.

Testimony in support of the measure was submitted by the Department of Transportation, the Department of Education, the Department of Health, the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu, the Honolulu Police Department, the Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, Mothers Against Drunk Driving-Hawaii, and three members of MADD-Hawaii Youth in Action. The Office of the Public Defender testified in opposition to the measure. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Judiciary commented on the measure.

This measure institutes a graduated provisional licensing program to address concerns in the community with respect to the operation of motor vehicles by persons under the age of eighteen.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting a sunset provision that ends this graduated licensing program in three years;

(2) Requiring the Department of Transportation and Department of Health to compile and analyze all traffic and accident data to determine the effectiveness of this graduated licensing program in reducing traffic fatalities and accidents in the State; and

(3) Making technical, non-substantive changes for purposes of clarity, style, and consistency.

Your Committee notes that this measure touches upon many different aspects of driving beyond the licensing of underage drivers. This measure may also have an impact on car insurance rates and thus your Committee suggests that an insurance rollback provision be studied for possible implementation in the future. Further, your Committee is also cognizant of the serious concerns expressed by residents of the neighbor islands that this provisional licensing program may have on the transportation of family members and the transaction of business. Your Committee is also aware that when statewide regulatory schemes, such as this provisional licensing program, are enacted, there is often a larger impact felt in rural communities with respect to complying with the mandates of a program that is often not sensitive to the needs of each community.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 150, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 150, H.D. 2, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________

COLLEEN HANABUSA, Chair