HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1941

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to transportation.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the towing of cars, especially at night, represents an important safety issue.  The first knowledge that any driver receives about having a vehicle towed is when they return to where they parked their vehicle, only to find it missing.  When this situation happens at night, there is little recourse for a driver but to call for a ride that may take some time to arrive, leaving the driver vulnerable to any number of situations, including assault, robbery, kidnapping, rape, or murder.

     The legislature also finds that the purpose of towing parked vehicles is twofold: the enforcement of parking laws and opening up parking stalls for use.  A system that accomplishes both of these purposes in a timely manner would be a worthwhile improvement over the current system of citation and towing call.

     The purpose of this Act is to provide for a pilot program to allow counties of a population of greater than 500,000 to use electronic ticketing for parking violations, and to allow rental car or U-drive companies to charge a lessee the amount of a fine if the rental car or U-drive company knows the existence of, and amount of, the fine.

     SECTION 2.  Counties with a population greater than 500,000 people shall be allowed to establish a pilot program to issue parking violations electronically, and may contract for the purchase of service to effectuate the purposes of this Act by adoption of a county ordinance.  Revenue generated through the pilot program authorized by this Act shall be used to compensate a county for the costs of the pilot program, and the excess, if any, shall be remitted to the state general fund on a quarterly basis.

     SECTION 3.  Section 291D-3.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "[§291D-3.5]  U-drive vehicles; traffic infractions.  (a)     Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, except those pertaining to the care and maintenance of the vehicle, if the registered owner of record is the lessor of a rental or U-drive motor vehicle, as defined in section 286-2, pursuant to a written lease agreement, the lessee at the time of the issuance of the traffic infraction shall be responsible for such summons or citation; provided that the lessor shall be responsible for such summons or citation if the lessor does not provide the court having jurisdiction over the summons or citation the name and address of the lessee within forty-five days after a notice containing the date, time, and location of the violation and the license number of the vehicle; provided further that if requested by the lessor in writing within forty-five days of such notice of violation other than for parking citations, the administrative judge of the court having jurisdiction over the citation or summons shall waive the requirement of providing the name and address of the lessee by the lessor and impose an administrative fee of $5 per citation on the lessor, plus costs and fees not to exceed $10 in total per violation, notwithstanding section 607-4 or other sections of the law, county ordinance, or any rule to the contrary.  In the alternative, if the existence and amount of the fine for any traffic infraction is known to the lessor at the time the lessee returns the rental or U-drive vehicle to the lessor, the lessor may impose the amount of the fine as an additional fee to the written lease agreement and provide the court having jurisdiction over the summons or citation the name and address of the lessee and the amount of the fine, provided that notice of this authority is stated on the written lease agreement at a minimum, in plain language and in at least ten-point bold typeface print.  The provision of the name and address of the lessee and the amount of the fine to the court having jurisdiction over the summons or citation shall relieve the lessor of any responsibility for the summons or citation and the court shall be prohibited from imposing any administrative fee authorized under this chapter.

     (b)  In the case of parking citations, the administrative judge of the court having jurisdiction over the citation or summons may waive the requirement of providing the name and address of the lessee by the lessor and impose an administrative fee of $5 per parking citation on the lessor, plus costs and fees not to exceed $10 in total per such violation, notwithstanding section 607-4 or other sections of the law, county ordinance, or any rule to the contrary[.], provided that if the existence and amount of the fine for any parking citation is known to the lessor at the time the lessee returns the rental or U-drive vehicle to the lessor, the lessor may impose the amount of the fine as an additional fee to the written lease agreement and provide the court having jurisdiction over the summons or citation the name and address of the lessee and the amount of the fine, provided that notice of this authority is stated on the written lease agreement, at a minimum, in plain language and in at least ten-point bold typeface print.  The provision of the name and address of the lessee and the amount of the fine to the court having jurisdiction over the summons or citation shall relieve the lessor of any responsibility for the summons or citation and the court shall be prohibited from imposing any administrative fee authorized under this chapter. "

     SECTION 4.  Section 437D-17.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§437D-17.5  Rental agreements; unpaid traffic infractions.  (a)     Pursuant to section 291D-3.5, or other sections of the law and except for summons, citations, or violations relating to the care and maintenance of a rental motor vehicle, the lessor, as the registered owner of the rental motor vehicle, may be responsible for fines, costs, penalties, fees, or other charges related to traffic infractions of a motor vehicle while being leased or rented to a lessee.  The lessor may adopt a policy of charging the lessee the actual amount paid for the traffic infractions to the court or other state government agency or county government plus an administrative fee not to exceed out-of-pocket expenses documented by receipts plus up to four hours of work multiplied by Hawaii's prevailing minimum wage relating to research of files and communications with the court, county government or governmental agencies and lessee; provided that every rental agreement of a lessor adopting the policy must disclose, at a minimum, in plain language and in at least ten-point bold typeface print:

     (1)  The maximum estimated amount of the administrative fee to be charged; and

     (2)  Language encouraging the lessee to pay directly to the court, county government or other appropriate government agency the applicable fines, costs, monetary assessments, penalties, fees, surcharges, or other charges.

(b)  If the existence and amount of the fine for any traffic infraction is known to the lessor at the time the lessee returns the rental or U-drive vehicle to the lessor, the lessor may impose the amount of the fine as an additional fee to the written lease agreement and provide the court having jurisdiction over the summons or citation the name and address of the lessee and the amount of the fine, provided that notice of this authority is stated on the written lease agreement at a minimum, in plain language and in at least ten-point bold typeface print.  The provision of the name and address of the lessee and the amount of the fine to the court having jurisdiction over the summons or citation shall relieve the lessor of any responsibility for the summons or citation and the court shall be prohibited from imposing any administrative fee authorized under this chapter.  Additionally, an administrative fee not to exceed out-of-pocket expenses documented by receipts plus up to four hours of work multiplied by Hawaii's prevailing minimum wage relating to research of files and communications with the court, county government or governmental agencies and lessee, may be imposed by the lessor pursuant to this subsection."

     SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2010, and shall be repealed on June 30, 2018.

 

 

INTRODUCED BY:

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Report Title:

Transportation

 

Description:

Allows counties with a population greater than 500,000 to establish a pilot project to issue parking citations by electronic means.  Allows rental car and U-drive vehicle companies to add traffic violation and parking citation fines to the final settlement of written lease agreements.

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.