REPORT TITLE:
Taxicabs


DESCRIPTION:
Amends the definition of "taxicab" to include vehicles having
seating capacity up to 15 persons.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           1532
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO TAXICABS.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  Section 271-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended to read as follows:
 
 3      "§271-5 Exemptions, generally.  Notwithstanding any other
 
 4 provisions of this chapter, its contents shall not apply to:
 
 5      (1)  Persons transporting their own property where the
 
 6           transportation is in furtherance of a primary business
 
 7           purpose or enterprise of that person, except where the
 
 8           transportation is undertaken by a motor carrier to
 
 9           evade the regulatory purposes of this chapter;
 
10      (2)  Persons operating motor vehicles when engaged in the
 
11           transportation of school children and teachers to and
 
12           from school, and to and from school functions; provided
 
13           that these persons may engage in providing
 
14           transportation at special rates for groups of persons
 
15           belonging to an eleemosynary or benevolent organization
 
16           or association domiciled in this State where the
 
17           organization or association sponsors or is conducting a
 
18           nonregular excursion; provided that whenever the
 
19           persons engage in the transportation of persons other
 

 
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 1           than those exempted in this paragraph, that portion of
 
 2           their operation shall not be exempt from this chapter.
 
 3           Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to
 
 4           authorize any person to engage in the transportation of
 
 5           persons, other than the transportation of persons
 
 6           exempted by the terms of this paragraph, without a
 
 7           permit or certificate issued by the commission
 
 8           authorizing such transportation;
 
 9      (3)  Persons operating taxicabs or other motor vehicles
 
10           utilized in performing a bona fide taxicab service.
 
11           "Taxicab" includes:
 
12           (A)  Any motor vehicle used in the movement of
 
13                passengers on the public highways under the
 
14                following circumstances, namely the passenger
 
15                hires the vehicle on call or at a fixed stand,
 
16                with or without baggage for transportation, and
 
17                controls the vehicle to the passenger's
 
18                destination;
 
19           (B)  Any motor vehicle for hire having seating
 
20                accommodations for [eight] fifteen or fewer
 
21                passengers used in the movement of passengers on
 
22                the public highways that may, as part of a
 
23                continuous trip, pick up or discharge passengers
 

 
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 1                from various unrelated locations; provided that
 
 2                they shall be regulated by the counties in
 
 3                accordance with section 46-16.5(c); and provided
 
 4                further that this subparagraph shall not apply to
 
 5                any exclusive rights granted by the department of
 
 6                transportation for taxicab services at facilities
 
 7                under the department's control; and
 
 8           (C)  Any motor vehicle having seating accommodations
 
 9                for [eight] fifteen or fewer passengers used in
 
10                the movement of passengers on the public highways
 
11                between a terminal, i.e., a fixed stand, in the
 
12                Honolulu district, as defined in section 4-1 and a
 
13                terminal in a geographical district outside the
 
14                limits of the Honolulu district, and vice versa,
 
15                without picking up passengers other than at the
 
16                terminals or fixed stands; provided that the
 
17                passengers may be picked up by telephone call from
 
18                their homes in the rural area or may be unloaded
 
19                at any point between the fixed stands or may be
 
20                delivered to their homes in the rural area;
 
21      (4)  Persons operating motor vehicles in the transportation
 

 
 
 
 
 
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                                     S.B. NO.           1532
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1           of persons pursuant to a franchise from the legislature
 
 2           and whose operations are presently regulated under
 
 3           chapter 269;
 
 4      (5)  Nonprofit agricultural cooperative associations to the
 
 5           extent that they engage in the transportation of their
 
 6           own property or the property of their members;
 
 7      (6)  Persons operating motor vehicles specially constructed
 
 8           for the towing of disabled or wrecked vehicles but not
 
 9           otherwise used in the transportation of property for
 
10           compensation or hire;
 
11      (7)  Persons operating motor vehicles in the transportation
 
12           of mail, newspapers, periodicals, magazines, messages,
 
13           documents, letters, or blueprints;
 
14      (8)  Persons operating funeral cars or ambulances;
 
15      (9)  Persons operating motor vehicles in the transportation
 
16           of garbage or refuse;
 
17     (10)  Persons operating the type of passenger carrying motor
 
18           vehicles known as "sampan buses" within the radius of
 
19           twenty miles from the city of Hilo, Hawaii;
 
20     (11)  Persons transporting unprocessed pineapple to a
 
21           cannery, seed corn to a processing facility, or
 
22           returning any containers used in such transportation to
 

 
 
 
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 1           the fields;
 
 2     (12)  Sugar plantations transporting sugarcane, raw sugar,
 
 3           molasses, sugar by-products, and farming supplies for
 
 4           neighboring farmers pursuant to contracts administered
 
 5           by the United States Department of Agriculture;
 
 6     (13)  Persons engaged in the ranching or meat or feed
 
 7           business who transport cattle to slaughterhouses for
 
 8           hire where such transportation is their sole
 
 9           transportation for hire and where their earnings from
 
10           the transportation constitute less than fifty per cent
 
11           of their gross income from their business and the
 
12           transportation for hire;
 
13     (14)  Persons transporting unprocessed raw milk to processing
 
14           plants and returning any containers used in such
 
15           transportation to dairy farms for reloading;
 
16     (15)  Persons transporting animal feeds to animal husbandry
 
17           farmers and farming supplies directly to animal
 
18           husbandry farmers and returning any containers used in
 
19           such transportation to these sources of such feeds and
 
20           supplies for reloading;
 
21     (16)  Persons engaged in transporting not more than fifteen
 
22           passengers between their places of abode, or termini
 

 
 
 
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 1           near such places, and their places of employment in a
 
 2           single daily round trip where the driver is also on the
 
 3           driver's way to or from the driver's place of
 
 4           employment;
 
 5     (17)  Persons transporting passengers without charge in motor
 
 6           vehicles owned or operated by such person, where such
 
 7           transportation is provided in conjunction with and in
 
 8           furtherance of a related primary business purpose or
 
 9           enterprise of that person, and such transportation is
 
10           provided only directly to and from the place of
 
11           business of such person, except that this exemption
 
12           shall not apply to persons making any contract,
 
13           agreement, or arrangement to provide, procure, furnish,
 
14           or arrange for transportation as a travel agent or
 
15           broker or a person engaged in tour or sightseeing
 
16           activities, nor shall this exemption apply where the
 
17           transportation is undertaken by a person to evade the
 
18           regulatory purposes of this chapter; and
 
19     (18)  Persons conducting the type of county-regulated
 
20           passenger carrying operation known as "jitney
 
21           services".  For the purposes of this paragraph, "jitney
 
22           services" means public transportation services
 

 
 
 
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 1           utilizing motor vehicles that have seating
 
 2           accommodations for six to twenty-five passengers,
 
 3           operate along specific routes during defined service
 
 4           hours, and levy a flat fare schedule."
 
 5      SECTION 2.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
 6 New statutory material is underscored.
 
 7      SECTION 3.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
 8 
 
 9                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________
 
10 
 
11 
 
12                                           _______________________