STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3426

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1412

H.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Transportation and Government Operations, to which was referred H.B. No. 1412, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ABANDONED VEHICLES,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require counties to provide a minimum distance a vehicle must be moved within a specified timeframe after a vehicle is initially inspected for abandonment to avoid an official classification of abandonment; and

(2) Require that, before a vehicle can be classified as being abandoned, notice be provided that the vehicle must be moved the specified distance within the specified timeframe or be subject to removal.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the County of Maui Department of Environmental Management, County of Hawai‘i Department of Environmental Management, Hawaii Council of Mayors, Hawai‘i State Association of Counties, Maui Metropolitan Planning Organization, and nine individuals.

Your Committees find that abandoned vehicles are a nuisance for Hawaii communities while also being unsafe for the environment and an economic burden for the State. The existing laws that determine how far a vehicle must move to not be abandoned are vague, and this lack of clarity creates a loophole where a vehicle can be moved only an inch to qualify as no longer abandoned. This measure establishes a minimum distance a vehicle must be moved within a specified time frame to be considered not abandoned.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Transportation and Government Operations that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1412, H.D. 2, and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Transportation and Government Operations,

________________________________ SHARON MORIWAKI, Chair

________________________________ CHRIS LEE, Chair