STAND. COM. REP. NO.  88

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   H.B. No. 657

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred H.B. No. 657 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WAIVER OF ABANDONED VEHICLE PUBLIC AUCTION REQUIREMENTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to ease the strain placed on facilities used to store abandoned vehicles by allowing public auction requirements to be waived when the vehicle's:

     (1)  Major components are missing; or

     (2)  Damage renders it inoperable; and

     (3)  Registration period has expired.

     A member of the Hawaii County Council, the Department of Customer Services of the City and County of Honolulu, and the Windward Ahupua'a Alliance testified in support of this bill.

     Due to the number of abandoned vehicles removed from our islands' roads each day and the lengthy notice and public auction requirements currently established for the disposal of these vehicles, tow companies are experiencing shortages of valuable storage space.  Your Committee finds that waiving the public auction requirements under certain conditions will result in a more expeditious removal of abandoned vehicles from storage facilities and that this measure continues to preserve a motor vehicle owners rights by continuing to require public notice of the vehicle's disposal.

     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 H.B. No. 657 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation,

____________________________

JOSEPH M. SOUKI, Chair