STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1254-08

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2008

RE:   S.B. No. 2094

      S.D. 2

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred S.B. No. 2094, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DRIVER LICENSES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to simplify the process of obtaining a Hawaii drivers license for applicants holding a valid driver's license from another state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, a province of the Dominion of Canada, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, or any of the federal government's political subdivisions, territories, or commonwealths by allowing the Examiner of Drivers to waive the knowledge test of the rules of the road, in addition to the actual performance test of the ability to operate a vehicle for these individuals.

     A concerned individual testified in support of this bill.  The Department of Transportation and Department of Customer Services of the City and County of Honolulu (DCS) supported the intent of this measure.

     Current law allows drivers with a valid driver's license from another state and various other jurisdictions of United States to drive on our roadways.  However, to obtain a Hawaii driver's license, these drivers must pass a written examination.  This test must also be passed by individuals who have returned to Hawaii after moving out-of-state and obtaining a driver's license from another state.  While this written examination of the rules of the road must be taken and passed, the actual demonstration of driving skills currently may be waived by the Examiner of Drivers.

     Your Committee finds that since many jurisdictions throughout the United States accept each others driver's licenses on a reciprocal basis, Hawaii should allow the Examiner of Drivers to waive the knowledge exam for driver license applicants from certain jurisdictions.  However, your Committee has been notified by DCS that the standards of the driver licensing programs in the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau are unknown and their driver's licenses are not recognized as valid by any jurisdiction within the United States.

     Accordingly, your Committee has amended this bill by deleting the provision allowing for the knowledge test and test to actually demonstrate the ability to operate a motor vehicle to be waived for individuals from the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau, while maintaining the waiver for the other jurisdictions specified in this measure.

     Your Committee has also amended this measure by:

     (1)  Changing its effective date from July 1, 2050, to upon approval; and

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments 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. 2094, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2094, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

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

____________________________

JOSEPH M. SOUKI, Chair