STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3624

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1411

H.D. 2

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 1411, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require that the transferee's and transferor's address be provided on the certificate of ownership when the title to a motor vehicle is transferred;

(2) Clarify that the signature of the transferee and signature of the transferor each serve as an attestation by that respective party as to the validity of the information on the certificate of ownership; and

(3) Impose a fine on a party who provides false or fraudulent information.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Council of Mayors, two members of the Kaua‘i County Council, County of Maui Department of Environmental Management, Hawai‘i State Association of Counties, Maui Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Board, Ainaloa Association, and seven individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual.

Your Committee finds that more than eight thousand vehicles are abandoned in Hawai‘i every year. In 2019, four thousand seven hundred abandoned vehicles were reported on Oahu, one thousand eight hundred abandoned vehicles were reported on Maui, 1,620 abandoned vehicles were reported on Hawai‘i island, and nine hundred abandoned vehicles were reported on Kauai. These abandoned vehicles are an eyesore in communities, harmful to the environment, and a financial burden to the counties. Your Committee further finds that, as a result of fraud occurring at the vehicle title transfer level, there is an ongoing issue with locating the proper owner of a vehicle that has been abandoned. This measure will more accurately track motor vehicle ownership.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that any person who provides false or fraudulent information under section 286-52(a), Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall be fined no less than $500 and no more than $1,000;

(2) Making it effective on July 1, 2023; and

(3) Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1411, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1411, H.D. 2, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

________________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair