STAND. COM. REP. NO. 619

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 615

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 615, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO RENTALS OF MOPEDS AND MOTOR SCOOTERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Prohibit the operation of a moped or motor scooter rented from any rental company unless the operator wears a safety helmet; provided that the prohibition does not apply if the operator has a valid license from any state to operate a motorcycle; and

(2) Prohibit the rental of any moped or motor scooter with an aftermarket modification to its motor.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Honolulu Police Department, AAA Hawaii, and twenty-eight individuals.

Your Committee finds that from 2016 to 2018, there were twenty-three motor scooter and moped operator fatalities, and of the twenty-three fatalities, twenty-two operators were not wearing helmets. Wearing a helmet while operating a moped, powered scooter, or other motorized cycle decreases fatalities and serious injuries. Your Committee notes that according to the Hawaii Injury Prevention Plan for 2012-2017, published by the Department of Health and the Emergency Services and Injury Prevention System Branch, properly worn helmets can reduce the risk of death by forty-two percent and the risk of a head injury by sixty-nine percent. This measure requires anyone who rents or leases a motor scooter or moped to wear a helmet to help reduce motor scooter and moped related fatalities.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 615, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection,

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ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair