HB1301

PART I

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the Motor Carrier Law, codified as chapter 271, Hawaii Revised Statutes, recognized that "the transportation of persons and of property, for commercial purposes, over the public highways of this State constitutes a business affected with the public interest" and the Motor Carrier Law intended "to provide for fair and impartial regulation of such transportation" in the public interest. However, despite this articulated policy, existing law has provided a competitive advantage to newer business models buttressed by emerging technologies through an exemption from the regulatory requirements under the Motor Carrier Law, while established business models continue to be subjected to those regulations.

Accordingly, the purpose of this part is to promote parity and remove the statutory barriers to fair competition amongst the similar businesses that transport persons or property over public highways by repealing the authority and mechanisms to regulate tariffs of motor carriers.

SECTION 2. Section 271-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§271-2 Administration; governing provisions of other acts. This chapter shall be administered by the public utilities commission of the State and the provisions of this chapter and of chapter 269, not inconsistent with this chapter, shall govern its administration; provided that sections [~~269-4,~~] 269-9, [~~269-11,~~] 269-16 to 269-28 and 269-30 and any provision of chapter 269 with respect to rate regulation shall not, in any respect, apply to the regulation of motor carriers."

SECTION 3. Section 271-10, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"§271-10 Reports and decisions of commission. (a) Whenever the public utilities commission inquires into the operations[,] or operating rights, [~~or rates,~~] or directs inquiry and investigation into motor carrier activities regulated under this chapter, and holds public hearing thereon, it shall make a report in writing, on paper or electronically, in respect thereto, which shall state its findings of fact and conclusions of law, together with its decision, order, or requirement in the premises."

SECTION 4. Section 271-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§271-11 Copies of [~~schedules, tariffs,~~] contracts, etc., kept as public records; evidence. The copies of [~~schedules and~~] classifications and [~~tariffs of rates, fares, and charges, and~~] all contracts, agreements, and arrangements between motor carriers filed with the public utilities commission as herein provided, and the statistics, tables, and figures contained in the annual or other reports of carriers made to the commission as required under this chapter shall be preserved as public records in the custody of the commission (except any contract, agreement, or arrangement between a contract carrier by motor vehicle and a shipper shall only be made public as provided in section 271-25), and shall be received as prima facie evidence of what they purport to be for the purpose of investigations by the commission and in all judicial proceedings; and copies of and extracts from any of the [~~schedules,~~] classifications, [~~tariffs,~~] contracts, agreements, arrangements, or reports, made public records as aforesaid, certified by the commission under the commission's seal, shall be received in evidence with like effect as the originals."

SECTION 5. Section 271-19, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) Certificates and permits shall be effective from the date specified therein, and shall remain in effect until suspended or terminated as [~~herein~~] provided[.] in this section. Any certificate or permit, upon application of the holder thereof, in the discretion of the public utilities commission, may be amended or revoked, in whole or in part. The commission, upon complaint or upon its own initiative, after notice and hearing, may suspend or revoke any certificate or permit, in part or in whole, if the certificate or permit holder [~~thereof~~] is found to be in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter; provided that:

(1) A motor carrier's right to engage in transportation by virtue of any certificate or permit may be suspended by the commission immediately without hearing or other proceedings upon the carrier's failure to comply, and until the carrier complies with [~~sections 271-21(a), 271-22(a),~~] section 271-17 or Act 20, Special Session Laws of Hawaii 1977, or with any lawful order of the commission; and

(2) The commission shall revoke the certificate or permit of a holder that knowingly and wilfully engages the services of a driver not licensed under part XIII of chapter 286."

SECTION 6. Section 271-20, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§271-20 [~~Rates, fares and charges~~] Services, equipment, and facilities of common carriers by motor vehicle. (a) It shall be the duty of every common carrier of passengers by motor carrier to provide safe and adequate service, equipment, and facilities for the transportation of passengers and [~~to establish, observe, and enforce just and reasonable rates, fares, and charges, and~~] just and reasonable regulations and practices relating thereto, and to the issuance, form, and substance of tickets, the carrying of personal, sample, and excess baggage, the facilities for transportation, and all other matters relating to or connected with the transportation of passengers.

(b) It shall be the duty of every common carrier of property by motor vehicle to provide safe and adequate service, equipment, and facilities for the transportation of property and [~~to establish, observe, and enforce just and reasonable rates, charges, and classifications, and~~] just and reasonable regulations and practices relating thereto, and to the manner and method of presenting, marking, packing, and delivering property for transportation, the facilities for transportation, and all other matters relating to or connected with the transportation of property.

(c) [All charges made for any service rendered by any common carrier by motor vehicle in the transportation of passengers or property or in connection therewith shall be just and reasonable, and every unjust and unreasonable charge for such service or any part thereof, is prohibited and declared to be unlawful.] It shall be unlawful for any common carrier by motor vehicle to make, give, or cause any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to any particular person, locality, region, district, island, or description of traffic, in any respect whatsoever; or to subject any particular person, locality, region, district, island, or description of traffic to any unjust discrimination or undue or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage in any respect whatsoever; provided that this subsection shall not be construed to apply to discrimination, prejudice, or disadvantage to the traffic of any other carrier of whatever description.

(d) Any person, organization, or body politic may make complaint in writing to the public utilities commission that any such [~~rate, fare, charge,~~] classification, rule, regulation, or practice, in effect or proposed to be put into effect, is or will be in violation of this section [~~or of section 271-21~~]. Whenever, after hearing, upon complaint or an investigation of its own initiative, the commission shall be of the opinion that [~~any individual rate, fare, or charge, demanded, charged, or collected by any common carrier or carriers by motor vehicle for transportation, or~~] any classification, rule, regulation, or practice whatsoever of the carrier or carriers, [~~affecting such rate, fare, or charge or the value of the service thereunder,~~] is or will be [~~unjust or unreasonable, or~~] unjustly discriminatory or unduly preferential or unduly prejudicial, it shall determine and prescribe [~~the lawful rate, fare, or charge or the maximum or minimum or maximum and minimum rate, fare, or charge thereafter to be observed, or~~] the lawful classification, rule, regulation, or practice thereafter to be made effective.

[(e) Whenever there is filed with the commission any schedule stating a new rate, fare, charge, or classification for the transportation of passengers or property by a common carrier or carriers by motor vehicle, or any rule, regulation, or practice affecting such rate, fare, or charge, or the value of the service thereunder, the commission may upon complaint of any interested person or upon its own initiative at once and, if it so orders, without answer or other formal pleading by the interested carrier or carriers, but upon reasonable notice, enter upon a hearing concerning the lawfulness of the rate, fare, or charge, or the rule, regulation, or practice, and pending the hearing and the decision thereon the commission, by filing the schedule and delivering to the carrier or carriers affected thereby a statement in writing of its reasons for such suspension, may from time to time suspend the operation of the schedule and defer the use of the rate, fare, or charge, or the rule, regulation, or practice, but not for a longer period than five months beyond the time when it would otherwise go into effect, and after hearing, whether completed before or after the rate, fare, charge, classification, rule, regulation, or practice goes into effect, the commission may make such order with reference thereto as would be proper in a proceeding instituted after it had become effective. If the proceeding has not been concluded and an order made within the period of suspension, the proposed changed rate, fare, or charge, or classification, rule, regulation, or practice, shall go into effect at the end of such period; provided that this subsection shall not apply to any initial schedule or schedules filed by any carrier in bona fide operation when this section takes effect. At any hearing involving a change in a rate, fare, charge, or classification, or in a rule, regulation, or practice, the burden of proof shall be upon the carrier to show that the proposed changed rate, fare, charge, classification, rule, regulation, or practice, is just and reasonable.

(f) In any proceeding to determine the justness or reasonableness of any rate, fare, or charge of any carrier, there shall not be taken into consideration or allowed as evidence or elements of value of the property of the carrier, either goodwill, earning power, or the certificate under which the carrier is operating; and in applying for and receiving a certificate under this [chapter] any carrier shall be deemed to have agreed to the provisions of this subsection on its own behalf and on behalf of all transferees of the certificate.

(g) In the exercise of its power to prescribe just and reasonable rates, fares, and charges for the transportation of passengers or property by common carriers by motor vehicle, and classifications, regulations, and practices relating thereto, the commission shall give due consideration, among other factors, to the effect of rates upon the movement of traffic by the carrier or carriers for which the rates are prescribed; to the need, in the public interest, of adequate and efficient transportation service by the carriers at the lowest cost consistent with the furnishing of the service; and to the need of revenues sufficient to enable the carriers, under honest, economical, and efficient management, to provide the service.

~~(h)~~] (e) Nothing in this section shall be held to extinguish any remedy or right of action not inconsistent herewith."

SECTION 7. Section 271-24, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§271-24 Recovery of overcharges or undercharges. (a) All actions by common carriers by motor vehicle for the recovery of their charges, or any part thereof, shall be begun within three years from the time the cause of action accrues, and not after.

(b) For recovery of overcharges, actions shall be begun within three years from the time the cause of action accrues, and not after, subject to subsection (c) of this section, except that if claim for the overcharge has been presented in writing to the carrier within the three-year period of limitation the period shall be extended to include six months from the time notice in writing is given by the carrier to the claimant of disallowance of the claim, or any part or parts thereof specified in the notice.

(c) If on or before the expiration of the three-year period of limitation in subsection (b) a common carrier by motor vehicle begins action under subsection (a) for recovery of charges in respect of the same transportation service, or, without beginning action, collects charges in respect of that service, the period shall be extended to include ninety days from the time the action is begun or the charges are collected by the carrier.

(d) The cause of action in respect of a shipment of property shall, for the purpose of this section, be deemed to accrue upon delivery or tender of delivery thereof by the carrier, and not after.

[~~(e) The term "overcharges" as used in this section means charges for transportation services in excess of those applicable thereto under the tariffs lawfully on file with the commission.~~]"

SECTION 8. Section 271-25, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) The public utilities commission may require annual, periodical, or special reports from all motor carriers, prescribe the manner and form in which the reports shall be made, and require from the carriers specific and full, true, and correct answers to all questions upon which the commission may deem information to be necessary. The annual reports shall give an account of the affairs of the carrier in such form and detail as may be prescribed by the commission. The commission may also require any motor carrier to file with it a true copy of any contract, agreement, or arrangement between the carrier and any other carrier or person in relation to any traffic affected by this chapter. The commission shall not, however, make public any contract, agreement, or arrangement between a contract carrier by motor vehicle and a shipper, or any of the terms or conditions thereof, except as a part of the record in a formal proceeding where it considers the action consistent with the public interest[; provided that if it appears from an examination of any such contract that it fails to conform to the published schedule of the contract carrier by motor vehicle as required by section 271-22(a), the commission may, in its discretion, make public such of the provisions of the contract as the commission considers necessary to disclose such failure and the extent thereof]."

SECTION 9. Section 271-27, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) Any person, whether carrier, shipper, or consignee, or any officer, employee, agent, or representative thereof, who intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly offers, grants, or gives, or solicits, accepts, or receives any rebate, concession, or discrimination in violation of any provisions of this chapter, [or who by means of any false statement or representation or by the use of any false or fictitious bill, bill of lading, receipt, voucher, roll, account, claim, certificate, affidavit, deposition, lease, or bill of sale, or by any other means or device, intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly assists, suffers, or permits any person or persons, natural or artificial, to obtain transportation of passengers or property subject to this chapter for less than the applicable rate, fare, or charge,] or who intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly by any such means or otherwise fraudulently seeks to evade or defeat regulation as in this chapter provided for motor carriers, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor."

SECTION 10. Section 271-31, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) Complaints may be made in writing, on paper or electronically, by the commission on its own motion or by any person or body politic, setting forth any act or thing done, or omitted to be done, by any motor carrier[~~, including any rule, rate, or charge heretofore established or fixed by or for any motor carrier,~~] in violation or claimed to be in violation, of any law or of any order or rule of the commission."

SECTION 11. Section 271-32, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) The motion for reconsideration or a rehearing shall be filed within ten days after the decision and order has been served and shall set forth specifically the ground or grounds on which the applicant considers the decision or order to be unlawful. No person shall in any court urge or rely on any ground not so set forth in the motion. If a motion for reconsideration or rehearing is filed from a final decision and order, the commission's order shall be automatically stayed until the commission renders its final determination on the motion; provided that:

[~~(1)~~ ~~No change in any rate, fare, or charge shall go into effect while a motion for reconsideration or rehearing is pending notwithstanding section 271-20(e);~~

~~(2)~~] (1) Any motion for reconsideration or rehearing shall be determined and an order issued by the commission within forty-five days from the filing date of the motion for reconsideration or rehearing; and

[~~(3)~~] (2) The commission may set aside the automatic stay in its discretion."

SECTION 12. Section 271-36, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:

"(d) The commission may charge an amount it deems necessary and reasonable to defray the cost of supplying to the carriers and the public the application forms and other forms, [~~schedules, tariffs,~~] copies of rules, and other pamphlets and materials it provides by individual copy or in bulk."

SECTION 13. Section 271-21, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.

["~~§271-21 Tariffs of common carriers by motor vehicle.~~ (a) Every common carrier by motor vehicle shall file with the public utilities commission, and print, and keep open to public inspection, tariffs showing all the rates, fares, and charges for transportation, and all services in connection therewith, of passengers or property. The rates, fares, and charges shall be stated in terms of lawful money of the United States. The tariffs required by this section shall be published, filed, and posted in such form and manner, and shall contain such information as the commission by regulations shall prescribe; and the commission may reject any tariff filed with it which is not in consonance with this section and with the regulations. Any tariff so rejected by the commission shall be void and its use shall be unlawful.

(b) No common carrier by motor vehicle shall charge or demand or collect or receive a greater or less or different compensation for transportation or for any service in connection therewith between the points enumerated in the tariff than the rates, fares, and charges specified in the tariffs in effect at the time; and no carrier shall refund or remit in any manner or by any device, directly or indirectly, or through any agent, or otherwise, any portion of the rates, fares, or charges so specified, or extend to any person any privileges or facilities for transportation except such as are specified in its tariffs.

(c) No change shall be made in any rate, fare, charge, or classification, or any rule, regulation, or practice affecting the rate, fare, charge, or classification, or the value of the service thereunder, specified in any effective tariff of a common carrier by motor vehicle; except after thirty days' notice of the proposed change filed and posted in accordance with subsection (a) of this section. The notice shall plainly state the change proposed to be made and the time when it will take effect. The commission may in its discretion and for good cause shown allow the change upon notice less than that herein specified or modify the requirements of this section with respect to posting and filing of tariffs either in particular instances or by general order applicable to special or peculiar circumstances or conditions.

(d) No common carrier by motor vehicle shall engage in the transportation of passengers or property unless the rates, fares, and charges upon which the same are transported by the carrier have been filed and published in accordance with this chapter."]

SECTION 14. Section 271-22, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.

["~~§271-22 Schedules of contract carriers by motor vehicle.~~ (a) It shall be the duty of every contract carrier by motor vehicle to file and observe reasonable minimum rates and charges for any service rendered or to be rendered in the transportation of passengers or property in connection therewith, and to file and observe reasonable regulations and practices to be applied in connection with the reasonable minimum rates, fares, and charges. It shall be the duty of every contract carrier by motor vehicle to file with the public utilities commission, publish, and keep open for public inspection, in the form and manner prescribed by the commission, schedules containing the actual rates or charges of the carrier for the transportation of passengers or property, and any rule, regulation, or practice affecting the rates or charges and the value of the service thereunder; provided that any contract carrier serving but one shipper having rendered continuous service to the shipper for not less than one year may file reasonable minimum rates and charges unless the commission in any individual case, after hearing, finds it in the public interest to require the filing of actual rates and charges. No contract carrier, unless otherwise provided by this chapter, shall engage in the transportation of passengers or property unless the actual rates or charges for the transportation by the carrier have been published, filed, and posted in accordance with this chapter. Nothing herein provided shall be so construed as to require the carriers to maintain the same rates, rules and regulations for the same services for all shippers served. No reduction shall be made in any such charge either directly or by means of any change in any rule, regulation, or practice affecting the charge or the value of the service thereunder, nor shall any new charge be permitted, except after thirty days' notice of the proposed change or new charge is filed in the aforesaid form and manner; but the commission may, in its discretion and for good cause shown, allow the change upon less notice, or modify the requirements of this subsection with respect to posting and filing of schedules, either in particular instances, or by general order applicable to special or peculiar circumstances or conditions. The notice shall plainly state the change proposed to be made and the time when the change will take effect. No carriers shall demand, charge, or collect compensation for transportation different from the charges filed in accordance with this subsection, as affected by any rule, regulation, or practice so filed, or less than the minimum rate or charge as may be prescribed by the commission from time to time, and it shall be unlawful for any carrier, by the furnishing of special services, facilities, or privileges, or by any other device whatsoever, to charge, accept, or receive compensation different from the actual rates and charges so filed, or less than the minimum charges prescribed; provided that any carrier or carriers, or any class or group thereof, may apply to the commission for relief from this subsection, and the commission may, after hearing, grant such relief to such extent and for such time, and in such manner as in its judgment is consistent with the public interest and the transportation policy declared in this chapter.

(b) Whenever, after hearing, upon complaint or upon its own initiative, the commission finds that any minimum rate or charge of any contract carrier by motor vehicle, or any rule, regulation, or practice of any carrier affecting the minimum rate or charge, or the value of the service thereunder, for the transportation of passengers or property or in connection therewith, contravenes the transportation policy declared in this chapter, or is in contravention of any provision of this chapter, the commission may prescribe such just and reasonable minimum rate or charge, or such rule, regulations, or practice as in its judgment may be necessary or desirable in the public interest and to promote the policy and will not be in contravention of any provision of this chapter. The minimum rate or charge, or the rule, regulation, or practice, so prescribed by the commission, shall give no advantage or preference to any carrier in competition with any common carrier by motor vehicle subject to this chapter, which the commission may find to be undue or inconsistent with the public interest and the transportation policy declared in this chapter and the commission shall give due consideration to the cost of the services rendered by such carriers, and to the effect of the minimum rate or charge, or the rule, regulation, or practice, upon the movement of traffic by the carriers. All complaints shall state fully the facts complained of and the reasons for the complaint and shall be made under oath.

(c) Whenever there is filed with the commission by any contract carrier any schedule stating a charge for a new service or a reduced charge directly, or by means of any rule, regulation, or practice, for the transportation of passengers or property, the commission may upon complaint of interested persons or upon its own initiative at once and, if it so orders, without answer or other formal pleading by the interested party, but upon reasonable notice, enter upon a hearing concerning the lawfulness of the charge, or rule, regulation, or practice, and pending the hearing and the decision thereon, the commission, by filing with the schedules and delivering to the carrier affected thereby a statement in writing of its reasons for the suspension, may from time to time suspend the operation of the schedule and defer the use of the charge, or rule, regulation, or practice, but not for a longer period than five months beyond the time when it would otherwise go into effect; and after hearing, whether completed before or after the charge, or rule, regulation, or practice goes into effect, the commission may make such order with reference thereto as would be proper in a proceeding instituted after it had become effective. If the proceeding has not been concluded and an order made within the period of suspension, the proposed change in any charge or rule, regulation, or practice shall go into effect at the end of the period; provided that this subsection shall not apply to any initial schedule or schedules filed by any carrier in bona fide operation when this section takes effect. The rule as to burden of proof specified in section 271-20(e) shall apply to this subsection."]

SECTION 15. Section 271-30, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.

["~~§271-30 Allowance to shippers for transportation services.~~ If the shipper of property transported under this chapter, directly or indirectly, renders any service connected with the transportation, or furnishes any instrumentality used therein, the charge and allowance therefor shall be published in tariffs or schedules filed in the manner provided in this chapter and shall be no more than is just and reasonable; and the public utilities commission may, after hearing on a complaint or on its own initiative, determine what is a reasonable charge as the maximum to be paid by the carrier or carriers for the services so rendered or for the use of the instrumentality so furnished, and fix the same by appropriate order."]

PART II

SECTION 16. The legislature finds that the Motor Carrier Law, codified as chapter 271, Hawaii Revised Statutes, recognized that "the transportation of persons and of property, for commercial purposes, over the public highways of this State constitutes a business affected with the public interest" and the Motor Carrier Law intended "to provide for fair and impartial regulation of such transportation" in the public interest. However, despite this articulated policy, existing law has provided a competitive advantage to newer business models buttressed by emerging technologies through an exemption from the regulatory requirements under the Motor Carrier Law, while established business models continue to be subjected to those regulations.

Accordingly, the purpose of this part is to promote parity and fair competition amongst the similar businesses that transport persons or property over public highways by applying on similar businesses the same regulatory framework enforced upon motor carriers – which is an alternative approach to part I.

SECTION 17. Section 271-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§271-2 Administration; governing provisions of other acts. This chapter shall be administered by the public utilities commission of the State and the provisions of this chapter and of chapter 269, not inconsistent with this chapter, shall govern its administration; provided that sections [~~269-4,~~] 269-9, [~~269-11,~~] 269-16 to 269-28, and 269-30 shall not, in any respect, apply to the regulation of motor carriers."

SECTION 18. Section 271-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By adding three new definitions to be appropriately inserted and to read:

""Prearranged ride" means the provision of transportation by a transportation network company driver to a passenger, beginning when a transportation network company driver accepts a passenger's request for a ride through a digital network or software application service controlled by a transportation network company, continuing while the transportation network company driver transports the requesting passenger, and ending when the requesting passenger, or the last passenger from the requesting passenger's party, departs from the personal vehicle. A prearranged ride shall not include transportation provided through a ridesharing arrangement, as defined in section 279G-1; use of a taxicab, limousine, or other for-hire vehicle; or a regional transportation provider.

"Transportation network company" means an entity that uses a digital network or software application service to connect passengers to transportation network company drivers; provided that the entity:

(1) Does not own, control, operate, or manage the personal vehicles used by transportation network company drivers; and

(2) Is not a taxicab association or a for-hire vehicle owner.

"Transportation network company driver" means an individual who operates a personal vehicle used to transport a passenger between points chosen by the passenger and prearranged through a transportation network company and that is:

(1) Owned, leased, or otherwise authorized for use by the individual;

(2) Not a taxicab or for-hire vehicle; and

(3) Used to provide prearranged rides to passengers.

2. By amending the definition of "common carrier by motor vehicle" to read:

"Common carrier by motor vehicle" means any person that holds itself out to the general public to engage in the transportation by motor vehicle of passengers or property or any class or classes thereof for compensation. "Common carrier by motor vehicle" includes transportation network companies.

SECTION 19. Chapter 279J, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.

PART III

SECTION 20. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 21. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1301
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII