STAND. COM. REP. NO. 91

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2021

RE: H.B. No. 273

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Pandemic & Disaster Preparedness, to which was referred H.B. No. 273 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LICENSE RENEWALS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to authorize the Director of Transportation to adopt emergency rules to allow for license renewals to be completed by mail or online.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation, Hawaii Transportation Association, and one individual.

Your Committee finds that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has negatively impacted the way many residents proceed with their everyday life, including what was once the simple task of renewing a driver's license in person. The COVID‑19 pandemic has stressed the importance of government being able to quickly and efficiently adapt to changing situations to ensure the continued provision of necessary public services.

Your Committee notes that according to testimony from the Department of Transportation, existing driver's license holders that intend to obtain a federal REAL ID compliant driver's license for the first time will not be eligible for online or mail-in renewal and that federal rule requires a person to take an in-person photo every sixteen years. Your Committee, therefore, requests that should your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs decide to hear this measure, it take the Department of Transportation's testimony into consideration.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Pandemic & Disaster Preparedness that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 273, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 273, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Pandemic & Disaster Preparedness,

____________________________

LINDA ICHIYAMA, Chair