STAND. COM. REP. NO. 931

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 1
                                        H.D. 1
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Transportation and Intergovernmental
Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 1, H.D. 1, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to require persons transporting
a child under four years of age to restrain the child in a child
passenger restraint system and to require the vehicle operator to
ensure that children who are three years of age or older and
weigh in excess of forty pounds to be restrained in a child
passenger restraint system or a seat belt assembly.

     Testimony in support of this measure was received from the
Department of Transportation, Commission on Persons with
Disabilities, and State Farm Insurance Companies.  Testimony in
support of the intent of this measure but recommending that the
weight component be deleted from the measure was received from
the Department of Health, Police Department of the City and
County of Honolulu, Police Department of the County of Maui,
Hawaii Medical Association, and Keiki Injury Prevention
Coalition.

     Your Committee finds that child passenger restraint systems
offer children more protection than seat belts which are not
specifically designed for young children.  Current law requires
children under the age of three to be restrained in a child
passenger restraint system and allows children three years of age

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 931
                                   Page 2


or older to be restrained in a seat belt assembly.  The National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Committee
on Uniform Traffic Laws and Ordinances recommend that all
children under the age of four, regardless of weight, be properly
restrained in a child passenger restraint system.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by replacing the
contents of this measure with the language of S.B. No. 162,
S.D. 1, which implements the recommendations of the National
Traffic Safety Administration.

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

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Transportation
                                   and Intergovernmental Affairs,



                                   ______________________________
                                   CAL KAWAMOTO, Chair

 
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