STAND. COM. REP. NO.  530

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

RE:   H.B. No. 1386

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred H.B. No. 1386 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to simplify documentation requirements for vehicles being shipped between islands by providing certain vehicle identification requirement exemptions when vehicles are transported between islands.

     Young Brothers, Limited, testified in support of this bill.  Catrala-Hawaii testified in opposition to this measure.

     Currently, shipping motor vehicles between islands requires the shipper to present identification, a current certification of registration and proof of insurance for the vehicle being shipped, as well as a notarized letter from the registered owner or legal owner of the motor vehicle being shipped if the shipper is not the legal or registered owner of the vehicle.  Many times vehicles being shipped interisland via a barge service are owned by businesses or banks holding a lien on a vehicle, and obtaining a notarized letter is both problematic and inconvenient.  Nevertheless, under current law, notarized letters must be provided to interisland barge operation officials before the vehicle is allowed to be shipped interisland.

     Your Committee finds that the requirement for the provision of a notarized letter was intended to prevent illegal shipping of stolen vehicles between islands.  However, current procedures including identifying a vehicle through its vehicle identification number, make, model, year, and color, serve as a sufficient deterrent for the shipment of stolen vehicles on an interisland barge.  As a similar exemption was previously provided to persons shipping vehicles via an interisland ferry, your Committee finds that providing this exemption to an interisland barge service deserves further consideration.

     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 H.B. No. 1386 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

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

____________________________

JOSEPH M. SOUKI, Chair