STAND. COM. REP. NO. 486

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: H.B. No. 850
                                     H.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Consumer Protection and Commerce and
Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No.
850 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLE INSURANCE,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill, as received, is to extend until
December 31, 1999, the amnesty period for uninsured motorists to
purchase insurance coverage without incurring insurance
surcharges, and to expand the scope of amnesty by adding two
grounds, imposition of delinquent county vehicular tax and
operating a vehicle without a certificate of inspection, to the
original ground for amnesty.  This bill also removes, as a basis
for automatic license suspension, the conviction for driving
without a valid motor vehicle insurance policy.

     Testimony in opposition to the bill was received from the
Department of Commerce and Consumer Protection (DCCA), State Farm
Insurance Companies and the Honolulu Police Department.

     An interested individual submitted testimony in support of
the bill.

     Your Committee deems it a worthy goal to encourage uninsured
motorists to procure insurance coverage, and believes that
extending the amnesty period until December 31, 1999 will promote
this goal.  However, your Committee finds that the original
intent of the statute was to grant amnesty for insurance

 
 
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surcharges attributable solely to failure to maintain no-fault or
motor vehicle insurance, and finds no compelling reason to extend
the scope of the amnesty.  Accordingly, your Committee has
amended the bill to retain only the original ground for amnesty. 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your
Committees on Consumer Protection and Commerce and Judiciary and
Hawaiian Affairs that are attached to this report, your
Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No.
850, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading
in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 850, H.D. 1, and be
referred to the Committee on Finance.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committees on Consumer
                                   Protection and Commerce and
                                   Judiciary and Hawaiian
                                   Affairs,

                                   
                                   
                                   
                                   
______________________________     ______________________________
PAUL T. OSHIRO, Chair              RON MENOR, Chair