Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations and Tourism and Intergovernmental Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 273 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish a task force to review the feasibility of transferring all state highway functions to the counties, and to effect the transfer one year following the constitution of the task force.

Your Committees received testimony from the Department of Budget and Finance expressing technical concerns with this measure. The Department of Transportation submitted testimony in opposition.

Your Committees find that the county governments should have jurisdiction over all roads and highways located within the county. At the same time your Committees are mindful that much strategic planning is involved in such a transfer.

Therefore, your Committees believe that this measure is a good starting point, by constituting a county highways task force to study this issue further before any transfer takes place.

Your Committees also amended this measure to alter the constitution of the task force slightly, by including a member of the United States Congress from Hawaii, and one additional member from each house of the state legislature.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations and Tourism and Intergovernmental Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 273, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 273, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.