STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1731

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 118

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 118, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRAFFIC FINES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Clarify that each county may, by ordinance, designate certain sections of county highways as areas in which stopping, standing, or parking vehicles is prohibited or restricted; and

(2) Provide that any federal or state agency authorizing a road closure shall supersede a county ordinance.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation, one member of the Maui County Council, and Hawai‘i State Association of Counties.

Your Committee finds that many popular scenic areas draw thousands of visitors who overburden state and county roads and highways and contribute to illegal parking that causes traffic gridlock and complaints from local communities. Your Committee also finds that Act 250, Session Laws of Hawaii 2019, established the State Highway Enforcement Program, which added a surcharge for illegal parking violations. Act 250 required that fifty percent of the surcharge revenue be distributed to county police departments, which are vital to the enforcement of parking violations. This measure will authorize the counties to designate, by ordinance, specific sections of county highways subject to stopping, standing, and parking laws to enhance enforcement against illegal parking violations and provide for parking management improvements.

Your Committee has amended this measure by 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. 118, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 118, S.D. 2.

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

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KARL RHOADS, Chair