HB2393 HD1.DOC

SECTION 1. Mopeds are a cheaper alternative to driving a vehicle. As the cost of gasoline increases, moped sales and the use of mopeds also increases. According to the City and County of Honolulu, the number of registered mopeds in Honolulu increased every year between 2006 and 2012. Additionally, there were three hundred fifty-four mopeds involved in major traffic accidents on public roadways in 2012.

The legislature finds that public safety is a state priority. Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to increase public safety by, among other things:

(1) Requiring all mopeds to be registered on a staggered basis, as established by each county;

(2) Subjecting mopeds to the vehicle weight tax for registration purposes;

(3) Prohibiting the use of a moped that is not in good working order on public roadways;

(4) Extending certain police powers dealing with vehicle inspections to include mopeds;

(5) Requiring a certificate of inspection for all mopeds;

(6) Including a penalty for a false certificate of inspection for mopeds; and

(7) Increasing the fine for modifying a moped.

SECTION 2. Chapter 249, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§249- Moped registration and fee. (a) Mopeds shall be registered, on a staggered basis as established by each county and based upon the month of initial registration, and shall be subject to an annual registration fee of $15, to be paid by the owners to the director of finance. The owner of a moped shall submit the current official certificate of inspection issued for the moped under section 286-26 as part of the registration.

(b) Upon receipt of the fee, the director of finance shall number and register each moped for which the fee is paid in the owner's name, and furnish the owner with a metallic tag or decal for each moped that shall be attached to the moped. The decal shall be affixed to the lower portion of the rear fender facing rearward. Upon initial registration by an owner or transferee, the director of finance shall require proof of ownership and require the owner to furnish verification of the serial number and description contained in the proof of ownership and application for registration. The metallic tags or decals shall be in a form as the director of finance shall from time to time prescribe. It shall be the duty of the director of finance of each county to purchase a sufficient number of these tags or decals.

SECTION 3. Section 249-14, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§249-14 Bicycle [~~and moped~~] registration and fee. (a) Bicycles having two tandem wheels that are twenty inches or more in diameter [~~and all mopeds are required to~~] shall be registered and shall be subject to a permanent registration fee of $15, to be paid by the owners thereof to the director of finance.

(b) An owner of a bicycle having two tandem wheels that are less than twenty inches in diameter is not required to register such bicycle, but may do so to facilitate the return of recovered stolen bicycles by payment of the registration fee. The fee collected shall not be refunded or prorated. Upon receipt of the fee, the director of finance shall number and register each bicycle [~~and moped~~] for which the fee is paid, in the owner's name and furnish the owner with a [~~metallic tag or~~] decal for each bicycle [~~or moped~~] which shall be attached to the bicycle [~~or moped. On bicycles the~~]. The decal shall be affixed to the upright post attached to the sprocket facing in the forward direction. [~~On mopeds the decal shall be affixed to the lower portion of the rear fender facing rearward~~]. Upon initial registration by an owner or transferee, the director of finance shall require proof of ownership and require the owner to furnish verification of the serial number and description contained in the proof of ownership and application for registration. The [~~metallic tags or~~] decals shall be in a form as the director of finance shall from time to time prescribe. It shall be the duty of the director of finance of each county to purchase a sufficient number of these tags or decals.

(c) All fees collected under this section shall be deposited into the bikeway fund and shall be expended in the county in which the fees are collected as provided in section 249-17.5."

SECTION 4. Section 249-33, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) All vehicles and motor vehicles in the State as defined in section 249-1, including antique motor vehicles[,] and mopeds, except as otherwise provided in sections 249-4, 249-5.5, 249-6, and 249-6.5, in addition to all other fees and taxes levied by this chapter, shall be subject to an annual state vehicle weight tax. The tax shall be levied by the county director of finance at the rate of 1.75 cents a pound according to the net weight of each vehicle as the "net weight" is defined in section 249-1 up to and including four thousand pounds net weight; vehicles over four thousand pounds and up to and including seven thousand pounds net weight shall be taxed at the rate of 2.00 cents a pound; vehicles over seven thousand pounds and up to and including ten thousand pounds net weight shall be taxed at the rate of 2.25 cents a pound; vehicles over ten thousand pounds net weight shall be taxed at a flat rate of $300."

SECTION 5. Chapter 286, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the title of part II to read as follows:

"PART II. INSPECTION OF VEHICLES AND MOPEDS"

SECTION 6. Section 286-21, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§286-21 Vehicles and mopeds without required equipment or in unsafe condition. No person shall drive or cause to move on any highway any motor vehicle, moped, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer, or any combination thereof, unless the equipment thereon is in good working order and adjustment as required in this part [~~so as not to~~] and does not endanger the driver [or], any other occupant, or any person [~~upon~~] on the highway."

SECTION 7. Section 286-22, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (a) through (c) to read as follows:

"(a) [~~The chief of police or any police officer of any county may, at~~] At any time when the chief of police or police officer has reasonable cause to believe that a vehicle or moped is unsafe or not equipped as required by law, the chief of police or any police officer of any county may require the owner or driver of the vehicle or moped to submit the vehicle or moped to an inspection or make the necessary corrections or repairs.

(b) If the vehicle or moped is found to be in an unsafe condition or if any required part or equipment is not present or if any required part or equipment is present but not in proper repair, the officer shall issue a citation to the owner or driver stating the reasons that the vehicle is deemed unsafe or the moped is deemed unsafe or not equipped as required and shall require that a new certificate of inspection as provided in section 286-26 be obtained within five days or that the defect be cured.

(c) If upon inspection, the chief of police or any police officer determines that any vehicle or moped is in such unsafe condition as to constitute a menace to the public or determines that the moped is not equipped as required in this part and cannot reasonably be restored to a safe condition or with respect to mopeds, equipped as required in this part, the chief of police or police officer shall remove the sticker [~~which~~] that signifies the certificate of inspection and, with regard to vehicles, inform the director of finance, who shall [~~forthwith~~] immediately suspend the registration of the vehicle and give notice of the suspension to its owner. Whenever the director of finance has suspended the registration of any vehicle under this part, the owner of the vehicle shall immediately surrender and forward to the director of finance the certificate of registration and the license plates last issued upon registration of the vehicle for the current year."

SECTION 8. Section 286-23, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) No person shall operate any vehicle or moped after receiving a citation with reference thereto as provided in section 286-22(b), except that if the driver is authorized to do so by the police officer, the driver may return the vehicle or moped to the driver's residence or place of business or the residence or place of business of the owner of the vehicle[,] or moped, or to an automotive repair shop, if within a distance of twenty miles, until a certificate of inspection is obtained or the necessary corrections or repairs are made."

SECTION 9. Section 286-24, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§286-24 [~~Registered owner's responsibility; registration plates as prima facie evidence as to the fault of the registered owner.~~] Responsibility of owner or operator for violation. In any proceeding for violation of this part, the registered owner of a vehicle or the owner or operator of a moped shall be deemed responsible for the unsafe condition of the vehicle[.] or moped, or of the failure to equip the moped as required by law."

SECTION 10. Section 286-25, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§286-25 Operation of a vehicle or moped without a certificate of inspection. Whoever operates, permits the operation of, causes to be operated, or parks any vehicle or moped on a public highway without a current official certificate of inspection, issued under section 286-26, shall be fined not more than $100."

SECTION 11. Section 286-26, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By amending subsections (b) and (c) to read:

"(b) [~~All other~~] Mopeds and vehicles[,] other than those under subsection (a), including motorcycles, trailers, semitrailers, and pole trailers having a gross vehicle weight rating of [~~10,000~~] ten thousand pounds or less, and antique motor vehicles as defined in section 249-1, except those in subsections (c) and (d), shall be certified as provided in subsection (e) every twelve months; provided that any vehicle or moped to which this subsection applies shall not require inspection within two years of the date on which the vehicle or moped was first sold.

(c) Any vehicle or moped that has been involved in an accident shall be certified as provided in subsection (e) before it is operated again if:

(1) It is determined by a police officer or an insurer that the vehicle's or moped's equipment has been damaged so as to render the vehicle or moped unsafe; or

(2) It is rebuilt or restored."

2. By amending subsections (e) through (g) to read:

"(e) Upon application for a certificate of inspection to be issued for a vehicle[,] or moped, an inspection as prescribed by the director under subsection (g) shall be conducted on the vehicle[,] or moped, and if the vehicle or moped is found to be in a safe operating condition, a certificate of inspection shall be issued upon payment of a fee to be determined by the director. The certificate for a motor vehicle shall state the effective date, the termination date, the name of the issuing insurance carrier, and the policy number of the motor vehicle insurance identification card for the inspected motor vehicle as specified by section 431:10C-107 or state the information contained in the proof of insurance card as specified by section 431:10G-106. A sticker, authorized by the director, shall be affixed to the vehicle or moped at the time a certificate of inspection is issued. An inspection sticker [~~which~~] that has been lost, stolen, or destroyed shall be replaced without reinspection by the inspection station that issued the original inspection sticker upon presentation of the [~~vehicle's~~] current certificate of inspection[;] for the vehicle or moped; provided that the current certificate of inspection and inspection sticker shall not have expired at the time the replacement is requested. The director shall adopt rules to determine the fee for replacement of lost, stolen, or destroyed inspection stickers.

(f) The operator of an official inspection station shall pay, from the fee in subsection (e), an amount to be determined by rules adopted pursuant to chapter 91 to the director of transportation. This amount shall be expended only for administration and enforcement of the periodic motor vehicle and moped inspection program. The funds collected pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited into the highway special fund.

(g) The director of transportation shall adopt necessary rules for the administration of inspections and the issuance of certificates of inspection[.]; provided that mopeds manufactured after December 31, 2014, shall be issued a certificate of inspection only if the exhaust system of the moped meets the specifications of the original manufacturer, and all other applicable requirements for the issuance of a certificate of inspection are satisfied."

SECTION 12. Section 286-30, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§286-30 False certificates. Any person who makes, issues, or knowingly uses any imitation or counterfeit of an official certificate of inspection, or any person who displays or causes or permits to be displayed upon any vehicle or moped any certificate of inspection knowing the same to be issued for another vehicle or issued without an inspection having been made or issued without authority as provided herein shall be fined [~~not more than~~] up to $1,000 or imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both."

SECTION 13. Section 291C-206, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) Any person who violates this section shall be fined not more than [~~$500.~~] $1,000."

SECTION 14. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 15. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 16. This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2025.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2393
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII