STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2513

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2895

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Water and Land and Transportation, to which was referred S.B. No. 2895 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATIONS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Create a temporary intergovernmental task force to assist in the establishment and certification of a Metropolitan Planning Organization for the County of Hawaii;

(2) Require the Department of Transportation to provide a list of certain highway projects to the task force; and

(3) Require a report to the Legislature.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii County Council and one individual. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual.

Your Committees find that the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1962 required a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) to be established for any urbanized area with a population of over 50,000 as a condition to eligibility for federal transportation financial assistance. Congress intended MPOs to serve as a forum for promoting collaboration among local communities and government agencies and to direct federal funds toward projects that increase access to opportunity and prosperity through improved multimodal pedestrian, bicycle, and transit options.

Currently, there are two established MPOs operating in the State of Hawaii: one located in the County of Maui and the other in the City and County of Honolulu. According to the 2020 United States Census, which provides critical data that lawmakers, business owners, and many others use to provide daily services, products, and support for communities throughout the nation, the population of the County of Hawaii has grown to over two hundred thousand. The population growth has prompted local officials to reexamine the feasibility of a MPO to address the many transportation infrastructure and connectivity challenges exasperated by its growing population and topography. To address some of the challenges from the 2020 United States Census results, this measure creates a temporary intergovernmental task force to assist in the establishment and certification of a MPO.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

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

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Water and Land and Transportation that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2895, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2895, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Water and Land and Transportation,

________________________________ CHRIS LEE, Chair

________________________________ LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair