Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations and Tourism and Intergovernmental Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 2302, H.D. 2, entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to allow judges the discretion to conditionally issue or renew driver's licenses or permits other than commercial driver's licenses of individuals who will be fired from work or have no transportation to work without a license.

Your Committees received testimony in support of the measure from the Judiciary.

Your Committees find that current licensing law creates a catch-22 situation with respect to the many individuals who presently cannot renew their driver’s licenses because they have outstanding traffic fines, but cannot pay their traffic fines because they cannot renew their driver’s licenses to get to work, especially on the neighbor islands, where there is often no viable public transportation. This measure would allow judges the discretion to ameliorate that difficulty, which would be of particular benefit to such vulnerable segments of the population as:

(1) Low income working individuals;

Your Committees have amended the measure by inserting a defective date of July 1, 2050, to ensure continuation of discussion on this important issue.

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 H.B. No. 2302, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2302, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.