STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2011

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2968

       S.D. 1

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Transportation and International Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 2968 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLE INSURANCE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to allow motor vehicle insurance companies to offer discounts on premiums if the insured completes a state-approved driver safety course.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Transportation Association.  Comments on this measure were received from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and one individual.

     Your Committee finds that many states allow insurers to offer motor vehicle insurance discounts to drivers who complete a driver safety course in the classroom or online.  However, existing law in Hawaii on discriminatory practices in underwriting is silent on allowing motor vehicle insurance companies to offer discounts of any kind.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting the requirement that a driver safety course be state-approved and removing the involvement of the Insurance Commissioner and the Department of Transportation in any approval process as your Committee believes that each insurer should determine the type and content of the course that would suffice for their purposes;

     (2)  Referencing both of the terms "driver safety course" and "driver improvement course" throughout the measure, in the interests of making the measure more comprehensive to accommodate the nomenclature of these types of courses in various insurance policies; and

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     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. 2968, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2968, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection.

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

____________________________

J. KALANI ENGLISH, Chair