Report Title:
Abandoned Vehicles; Private Roads
Description:
Allows counties to tow an abandoned vehicle located on private roads. (SD1)
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
2736 |
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TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2006 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO VEHICLES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Abandoned vehicles on Hawaii's roads is a problem that few can ignore. These vehicles impair the beauty of our physical environment, decrease visibility for drivers, create hazards for walkers and bicyclists, leak hazardous materials, and often serve as breeding grounds for pests.
The situation is particularly aggravating when vehicles are abandoned on private roads whose owners are unknown or cannot be located, since current law allows abandoned vehicle removal by the counties only from public roads and public property.
The purpose of this Act is to allow a private road to be deemed "public" for abandoned vehicle removal purposes when the owners of the private road are unknown or cannot be found.
SECTION 2. Section 290-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
"(a) The counties may cause vehicles that have been abandoned to be taken into custody and disposed of. For the purposes of this subsection, a vehicle is "abandoned" if [it]:
(1) It is defined to be abandoned by an ordinance of the county in which the vehicle is located[.]; or
(2) It is located on a private road and is within the definition of "abandoned vehicle" under a county ordinance; provided that the owner of the private road is unknown or cannot be located; and provided further that the county or the person or entity removing the vehicle shall not be liable for trespass onto a private road for any action taken to remove the vehicle.
In the absence of such an ordinance, a vehicle is "abandoned" if it is left unattended for a continuous period of more than twenty-four hours and it is unlawfully parked on any public highway or other public property or private lands defined as a setback, shoulder, easement, or right of way that is adjacent to or part of a public highway. The mayors of the several counties may designate an agency within their counties to carry out the functions and requirements of this section. [The] For purposes of this section, the term "agency" means any office, department, or other governmental unit of the county."
SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed
and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.