STAND. COM. REP. NO. 252
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2005
RE: S.B. No. 689
S.D. 1
Honorable Robert Bunda
President of the Senate
Twenty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2005
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Transportation and Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 689 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HIGHWAY HAZARD EVALUATION DATA,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to shield highway hazard evaluation data from discovery or admission into evidence.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation (DOT), Attorney General, and Honolulu Police Department. Testimony in opposition was received from the Honolulu Advertiser and Consumer Lawyers of Hawaii. Comments were submitted by the Judiciary.
The DOT is responsible for the collection, evaluation, and use of traffic accident data under the federally-mandated Highway Safety Improvement Program. The DOT has been reluctant to enhance the collection and evaluation of traffic accident data because of potential exposure to liability. This measure affords a degree of protection to the DOT from lawsuits.
Federal law under 23 United States Code section 409 prohibits the discovery and admission of such analyses and data. However, this has precipitated much litigation as to the scope of the law. In Hawaii, plaintiffs have been successful in persuading the trial courts to circumvent the federal law based upon specious arguments. This measure is intended to close loopholes in the federal legislation which has been commonly based on the fact that Hawaii has no state highway patrol and that traffic data is collected by the DOT instead.
Your Committee has amended this measure to clarify that the release of information and data collected are not prevented by the public records law.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation and Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 689, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 689, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation and Government Operations,
____________________________ LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair |
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