Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, to which was referred S.B. No. 3190, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to improve highway safety by:

PUC and the Hawaii Transportation Association testified in support of this bill.

Your Committee finds that a motor carrier that knowingly and willfully employs a driver who does not have a commercial driver's license endangers the safety of motorists and should be subjected to the severe sanction of revocation of its permit or certificate of operation. However, it is not the intent of this legislation to impose revocation in situations involving negligence. For example, if a driver's commercial driver's license expires and the motor carrier is negligent in not monitoring the license status of its driver, the conduct of the motor carrier would not be willful and revocation would not be mandatory.

Your Committee has amended this bill by deleting the section that made it a misdemeanor to knowingly and willfully employ a driver who does not have a commercial driver's license. This deletion reflects that this bill is not being heard by the Judiciary Committee, and it is clearly within the province of that committee to determine what conduct warrants the imposition of criminal penalties and the severity of the criminal penalties that should apply. Attaching criminal penalties may, in addition, result in procedural complications, the implications of which are better assessed by the Judiciary Committee.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3190, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3190, S.D. 1, H.D. 1.