STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2102

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2365

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Transportation and International Affairs and Energy and Environment, to which was referred S.B. No. 2365 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to allow hybrid vehicles to use a high occupancy vehicle lane; provided that the Director of Transportation, by rule, develops a means to identify hybrid vehicles.

     Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers; Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc.; Maui Energy Group; and two individuals.

     Your Committees find that this measure would help in promoting increased use of fuel efficient hybrid vehicles by Hawaii residents.  Your Committees have also considered requests to extend the use of high occupancy vehicle lanes to other energy‑efficient vehicles, and believes this change would increase the benefit for Hawaii drivers.

     Your Committees have amended this measure accordingly, by adding:

     (1)  A definition of "energy-efficient vehicle"; and

     (2)  Energy-efficient vehicles in references to hybrid vehicles throughout the measure.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Transportation and International Affairs and Energy and Environment that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2365, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2365, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Transportation and International Affairs and Energy and Environment,

____________________________ RON MENOR, Chair

____________________________ J. KALANI ENGLISH, Chair