STAND. COM. REP. NO. 634

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1509

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Transportation and International Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 1509 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HIGH OCCUPANCY VEHICLE (HOV) LANES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to limit the use of the high occupancy vehicle lane to vehicles that carry a certain number of persons designated by the Director of Transportation as indicated on official signs or other traffic-control devices.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation (DOT).

     Your Committee finds that under current law, the DOT is unable to meet the changing needs of the motoring public in the operation of high occupancy vehicle lanes, and the changing traffic demands and traffic volumes.  Your Committee believes that DOT should have the flexibility to change occupancy requirements of high occupancy vehicle lanes to meet changing traffic conditions.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purpose of conforming the measure to preferred drafting conventions.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation and International Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1509, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1509, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation and International Affairs,

____________________________

J. KALANI ENGLISH, Chair