CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 72

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2007

RE:    H.B. No. 895

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

       C.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Sir and Madam:

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the House of Representatives to the amendments proposed by the Senate in H.B. No. 895, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

The purpose of this bill is to provide the counties and tow companies with the tools necessary to take custody and properly dispose of abandoned vehicles in a more efficient manner by allowing the counties to increase registration fees and thereby increase deposits into the Highway Beautification and Disposal of Abandoned or Derelict Vehicles Revolving Fund to defray costs associated with the storage of abandoned or derelict vehicles.

     Abandoned and derelict motor vehicles mar the beauty of Hawaii's landscape and, at times, create unsafe situations on our roadways.  While the counties work diligently to remove these vehicles in a timely manner, increases in the number of abandoned vehicles, along with a lengthy notification process that sometimes takes upwards of three months, has caused the problem to steadily worsen.

     However, storage space problems, as well as increased operational and storage costs, have caused many tow companies financial hardship.  As such, your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Allowing motor vehicle registration fees to be increased up to a maximum of $10;

     (2)  Increasing towing and storage fees that towing companies may charge; and

(3)  Decreasing the number of days in which the owner of the towed motor vehicle must be notified.

     Your Committee on Conference is also cognizant of the fact that many complaints have been received regarding the charging of "unhooking" fees for vehicles that are hooked to a tow-truck when an owner appears on the scene to recover a vehicle, and "overtime" fees for tows occurring during the evening hours and on weekends.  Accordingly, your Committee on Conference has further amended this measure by:

     (1)  Eliminating the ability of tow-companies to charge             overtime and unhooking fees; and

(2)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2007.

     Technical, nonsubstantive amendments were also made for clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 895, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 895, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

____________________________ LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair	____________________________ JOSEPH M. SOUKI, Co-Chair
____________________________ J. KALANI ENGLISH, Co-Chair	____________________________ SHARON E. HAR, Co-Chair