STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1543

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 895

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Intergovernmental and Military Affairs and Transportation and International Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 895, H.D. 2, entitled:

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

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure 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.

     Specifically, this measure:

     (1)  Allows 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;

     (2)  Increases towing and storage fees that towing companies are currently allowed to charge; and

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

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of the Mayor, County of Maui; County Council, County of Maui; Department of Finance, County of Maui; Department of Environmental Management, County of Hawaii; Hawaii State Towing Association; and one individual.

     Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from The Hawaii Automobile Dealers' Association.  Comments on this measure were submitted from the Director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

     Your Committees find that the significant increase in the number of abandoned and derelict vehicles being discarded on Hawaii's roadways not only degrade its beauty and pose a danger to the public by creating unsafe driving conditions, but also results in increased operating expenses associated with the removal and storage of these abandoned vehicles, causing tow operators to incur financial hardships.

     Your Committees also find that while the county in which the towing company is located is most often the requestor for the towing company to remove these abandoned and derelict vehicles, the county only pays for the initial towing service and does not pay for any other fees associated with the removal of the vehicles, creating an additional financial burden on tow operators.

     Your Committees further find that, while it is important to offset costs associated with the removal and storage of abandoned vehicles, the fees related to the towing and storage expenses, as well as the decrease in the number of days in which the owner of a towed vehicle is notified, should be considered separately from the registration fees.  To this end, your Committees amended this measure by deleting section 3 of the bill which would have increased the towing and storage fees and decreased the number of days to notify an owner of a towed vehicle.

     It is the intent of your Committees to defray the costs associated with the storage of abandoned or derelict vehicles by allowing the counties to increase registration fees, which will increase deposits into the Highway Beautification and Disposal of Abandoned or Derelict Vehicles Revolving Fund.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Intergovernmental and Military Affairs and Transportation and International Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 895, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 895, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Intergovernmental and Military Affairs and Transportation and International Affairs,

____________________________ J. KALANI ENGLISH, Chair

____________________________ LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair