Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred S.B. No. 758, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to accommodate applicants for a driver's license who have difficulty in understanding the English language by:

The Department of Customer Services of the City and County of Honolulu, Faith Action for Community Equity, Mu-Ryang-Sa Korean Buddhist Temple, and several individuals testified in support of the bill. The Department of Transportation (DOT) testified in opposition to the bill.

Your Committee finds that the decennial census is not suitable in determining the number of people who speak a language, other than English, and that DOT rules address the situation where the driver's license applicant has difficulty in understanding English. Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by authorizing DOT to determine when the usage of a particular foreign language warrants the preparation of the examination in that language. Your Committee has also amended the effective date of this measure to July 1, 2001.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 758, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 758, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.