HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1711
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to registration of vehicles.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that some individuals and entities intentionally abandon vehicles on roads and highways throughout the State, leaving the counties to bear the burdensome costs of towing, removal, and disposal of these vehicles. The legislature believes that the counties should be authorized to recoup towing, removal, and disposal costs from vehicle owners.

Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to authorize the director of finance of each county to require that the owner of an abandoned vehicle repay the county for any towing, removal, or disposal costs incurred for that vehicle as a condition to receiving a certificate of vehicle registration or authorizing the transfer of certain vehicles.

SECTION 2. Section 286-51, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) The certificate of registration for each motor vehicle in the counties of the State shall be renewed on a staggered basis as established by each county. The director of finance of each county may adopt rules to carry out the purposes stated in this section and shall expend the necessary funds from the director's operating funds as may be necessary for these purposes; provided that [the director of finance,] if the director has ascertained as of the date of the application that the registered owner has not deposited or paid bail with respect to any summons or citation issued to the registered owner for stopping, standing, or parking in violation of traffic ordinances within the county, or has any outstanding charges owed to the county for the towing, removal, or disposal of an abandoned or derelict vehicle registered to that owner within the county, the director of finance may require, as a condition precedent to the renewal, that the registered owner deposit or pay bail with respect to all [such] relevant summonses or citations[.], or pay the county any outstanding charges, as applicable. The certificates of registration issued hereunder shall show, in addition to all information required under section 286-47, the serial number of the tag or emblem and shall be valid during the registration year only for which they are issued. The certificates of ownership need not be renewed remain valid as to any interest shown therein until canceled by the director of finance as provided by law or replaced by new certificates of ownership as hereinafter provided."

SECTION 3. Section 286-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:

"(c) Subsection (b), requiring a transferee to forward the certificate of ownership after endorsement to the director of finance, shall not apply to the transferee of a vehicle who was not intending to and does not drive the vehicle or permit the vehicle to be driven upon the public highways, but [every such transferee,] each of these transferees, upon transferring the transferee's interest or title to another, shall give notice of the transfer to the director of finance and endorse the certificate of ownership to the new legal owner and the certificate of registration to the new owner; provided that if the director of finance has ascertained as of the date of the application that the registered owner has not deposited or paid bail with respect to any summons or citation issued to the registered owner for stopping, standing, or parking in violation of traffic ordinances within the county, or has any outstanding charges owed to the county for the towing, removal, or disposal of an abandoned or derelict vehicle registered to that owner within the county, the director may require, as a condition precedent to the transfer, that the registered owner deposit or pay bail with respect to all [such] relevant summons [or], citations[.], or pay the county any outstanding charges, as applicable."

SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2020.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________
	By Request

Report Title:

Kauai County Package; Vehicle Registration; Director of Finance; Abandoned Vehicles; Outstanding Charges

Description:

Authorizes the director of finance of each county to require that the owner of an abandoned vehicle repay the county for any towing, removal, or disposal costs incurred by that vehicle as a condition to receiving a certificate of vehicle registration or authorizing the transfer of certain vehicles.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.