STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1360

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   S.B. No. 1287

      S.D. 1

      H.D. 1

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 S.B. No. 1287, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HIGHWAY SAFETY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to simplify the inspection and certification of motor carrier vehicles by requiring that inspections and certifications take place once every 12 months.

     The Department of Transportation, Department of Customer Services of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii Transportation Association, Alexander & Baldwin, Inc., Matson Navigation Company, and Horizon Lines, LLC, testified in support of this bill.

     Currently, all commercial motor vehicles have their annual safety inspections conducted during the month in which the vehicle's certificate of motor vehicle registration is issued.  Since many of the chassis used by shipping companies are used nationwide and are often on the mainland or in the possession of a customer during the month the vehicle's registration is due, obtaining safety inspections of these vehicles becomes difficult.  Providing for safety inspections on these vehicles to occur once every 12 months gives shipping companies flexibility while maintaining safety standards.

     However, your Committee notes that language specifying that certifications and inspections take place once every 12 months may be misinterpreted to mean a certification and inspection must take place on a date exactly 12 months from the previous inspection.  Accordingly, your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1)  Clarifying that the inspection and certification of motor carrier vehicles take place once annually; and

(2)  Making the applicability of these amended certification and inspection procedures prospective by changing the effective date to January 1, 2008.

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

     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 S.B. No. 1287, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1287, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce.

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

____________________________

JOSEPH M. SOUKI, Chair