STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1683

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.R. No. 24

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.R. No. 24 entitled:

"SENATE RESOLUTION REQUESTING EACH COUNTY TO ADOPT AN ORDINANCE REQUIRING, AS A CONDITION OF ITS APPROVAL OF A SUBDIVISION OR ISSUANCE OF A BUILDING PERMIT FOR ANY NEW STRUCTURE OR UNIT WITHIN A STRUCTURE, THE SUBDIVIDER OR DEVELOPER TO OBTAIN ASSURANCE OF MAIL DELIVERY TO EACH PARCEL,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to request each county to adopt an ordinance requiring, as a condition of its approval of a subdivision or issuance of a building permit for any new structure or unit within a structure, the subdivider or developer to obtain assurance of mail delivery to each parcel.

Your Committee received no testimony on this measure.

Your Committee finds that in many rural areas, the United States Postal Service does not deliver mail to the doorstep of each lot, parcel, structure, or unit even with a street address, and instead makes deliveries to a specific location from which residents in the area can retrieve their mail, including individual post office boxes at local post offices and cluster box units that serve multiple addresses within the area. However, in such rural areas, residents rely on mail-order deliveries, but the rural post offices cannot handle the influx of parcels as shown by lines of residents waiting hours for parcel delivery. In Hawaii, certain property development projects, including subdivisions in rural areas, lack the sufficient number of post office boxes and cluster box units to serve all residents in the area, thereby requiring some to drive over an hour to retrieve their mail from a friend or family member residing within the United States Postal Service's service area to whom they had their mail sent in care of. Your Committee believes that people in Hawaii should be able to receive their mail and parcel deliveries at a location that is within a reasonable distance from their residence. This measure will help residents of rural and underserved communities in the State to more easily access their mail.

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 Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.R. No. 24, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.R. No. 24, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs,

________________________________

GLENN WAKAI, Chair