STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1269

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    GOV. MSG. NO. 646

 

 

 

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Transportation and International Affairs, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 646, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of: 

 

State Highway Safety Council

 

G.M. No. 646

CHAD K. TANIGUCHI,

for a term to expire 6-30-2015,

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nominee from the State Department of Transportation, Maui Bicycle Alliance, ILWU Local 142, Hawaii Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust, and two individuals.

 

     Chad K. Taniguchi received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, and a Juris Doctor degree from the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.  Mr. Taniguchi has experience in a variety of positions involving the public and private sectors, including Executive Director of the Hawaii Public Housing Authority; Bills Chief of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means; Analyst with the Office of the Auditor; Interim Dean of Communications and Services Programs at Honolulu Community College; Director of Workforce Development of the University of Hawai‘i Community Colleges; Homestead District Supervisor and Special Assistant for Housing at the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in Lihue, Kauai; Housing Administrator of the Kauai County Housing Agency; Attorney at Paul Johnson, Alston & Hunt; Researcher at the East-West Center, Environmental and Policy Institute; and Principal Investigator of the Ethnic Studies Oral History Project at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.

 

     Mr. Taniguchi is currently the Executive Director of the Hawaii Bicycling League, which encourages people to ride bicycles for health, recreation, and transportation through advocacy, education, and events.  The Hawaii Bicycling League is a 35‑year‑old 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and has as one of its missions the improvement of highway safety for bicyclists based on the belief that everyone has a right to be safe on Hawai‘i's roads.  As the Executive Director of the Hawaii Bicycling League, the nominee has been involved with the safe walking and bicycling for transportation and fitness program, pedestrian and bicycle friendly community program, and advising the Department of Transportation on highway shoulder maintenance.  He is a daily bicycle commuter between Honolulu and Kailua.

 

     Your Committee notes from Mr. Taniguchi's personal statement that he is able to find common areas of unity among diverse organizations, such as bus, trucking and car companies; police departments; environmental organizations; transportation and health professionals; and advocacy and victim organizations.  He is committed to achieving bicycle and pedestrian-friendly communities.  His vision is for representatives of all roadway users to understand the law of the splintered paddle, mamala-hoe kanawai (Article IX, section 10, Hawaii State Constitution), to let every elderly person, woman, and child lie by the roadside in safety, as a unique and living symbol of the State's concern for public safety.  To this end, the nominee appreciates the need to provide engineering, education, enforcement, and evaluation resources so that everyone can realize the right to be safe on Hawai‘i's roads.  Even pedestrians should be able to use the roads without fear of injury.

 

     Your Committee believes that the nominee would be an excellent resource to the State Highway Transportation Council, given his experience as the Executive Director of the Hawaii Bicycling League and commitment to improving the lives of Hawai‘i's residents.

 

     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, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.

 

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

 

 

 

____________________________

J. KALANI ENGLISH, Chair