STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2289

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2372

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Transportation and Energy and Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 2372 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PRIVATE ROADS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Require the counties to accept the surrender of a private road in cases where there has been an absence of any act of private ownership over the road for five years;

     (2)  Exempt the State and counties from performing any maintenance on a surrendered road and from liability arising from use of the road until the State or county performs maintenance work on the road; and

     (3)  Deem a highway, road, alley, street, way, lane, bikeway, bridge, or trail that has been commonly used by residents of a particular area for emergency access purposes or for health and safety reasons to be publicly accessible for those reasons, without regard to actual ownership or responsibility for maintenance.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Hawai‘i Association of REALTORS, Bank of Hawaii, and Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii.  Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii Association for Justice.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Transportation.

     Your Committees find that there are numerous roads throughout the State that are privately owned or whose ownership has been called into question.  In many cases, these private roads are remnants of a road, or a small portion of a larger public road, whose ownership is disputed for various reasons.  This has resulted in questions regarding who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of these roads, many of which are regularly used for vehicular traffic.

     Your Committees further find that since these private roads are not owned by a governmental entity, or their ownership is being disputed, they often do not receive proper repair and maintenance.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Limiting the period of state or county immunity from liability for personal injury, death, or property damage in any accident arising out of the use of a surrendered highway, road, alley, street, way, lane, bikeway, bridge, or trail for a period of two years following performance of construction, reconstruction, preservation, resurfacing, restoration, or rehabilitation; and

     (2)  Immunizing the State or county from any liability for the negligent acts or omissions of others that the State or county did not already benefit from before the surrender of the highway, road, street, way, lane, bikeway, bridge, or trail, solely by reason of the surrender.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Transportation and Energy and Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2372, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2372, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Ways and Means.

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

________________________________ CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair

________________________________ LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair