STAND. COM. REP. NO 2961

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 1667

       H.D. 3

       S.D. 1

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Transportation and International Affairs and Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 1667, H.D. 3, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO VETERANS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to exempt qualifying totally and permanently disabled veterans from paying the state motor vehicle registration fee and to require the Office of Veterans' Services to report the number of qualifying veterans to the Legislature and Department of Taxation.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Defense; State Office of Veterans Services; Office of the Mayor of the County of Kauai; Military Officers Association of America, Hawaii Chapter; and four individuals.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Transportation.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Customer Services of the City and County of Honolulu and the Tax Foundation of Hawaii.

     Your Committees find that disabled veterans deserve to be rewarded for their sacrifices in the name of duty, honor, and country.  The exemption provided by this measure would be a small recognition of those veterans who incurred military-related injuries and are now rated as one hundred percent disabled, who have made a significant sacrifice for their country.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Decreasing the exemption to one-half of the required annual vehicle registration fee, rounded up to the nearest dollar, in recognition that the State cannot afford the loss in revenue of a total exemption in these times of budgetary austerity; and

     (2)  Changing the effective date to January 1, 2015, to allow necessary time for computer programming to implement this measure if enacted.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Transportation and International Affairs and Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1667, H.D. 3, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1667, H.D. 3, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Transportation and International Affairs and Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs,

____________________________ WILL ESPERO, Chair

____________________________ J. KALANI ENGLISH, Chair