STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1306

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 228

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation and Culture and the Arts, to which was referred H.B. No. 228, H.D. 1, entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Authorize the counties to adopt rules for the use of electronic license plates and for intentionally obscuring a license plate with a cover or shield;

(2) Prohibit the use of license plate flipping devices; and

(3) Establish minimum and maximum fines.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation and Department of Law Enforcement.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from two individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Division of Motor Vehicles of the Department of Customer Services of the City and County of Honolulu.

Your Committee finds that license plates serve as critical identifiers for vehicles involved in criminal activities, traffic violations, and other public safety matters. Devices or methods that obscure or alter license plates are often employed specifically to evade identification by law enforcement and automated systems like traffic cameras and toll collection devices. This measure is necessary for enhancing public safety and law enforcement activities.

Your Committee notes the comments raised in testimony submitted by the Division of Motor Vehicles of the Department of Customer Services of the City and County of Honolulu regarding the delegation of administrative rulemaking authority to regulate electronic license plates. Your Committee acknowledges the challenges of the implementation of electronic license plates on a county level.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that would have allowed the counties to adopt rules authorizing the use of an electronic license plate in lieu of physical license plates furnished by the Director of Finance;

(2) Clarifying that any action that obscures a vehicle's license plate through the use of a cover or shield regardless of whether its intentional shall be punishable by a fine; and

(3) 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 Transportation and Culture and the Arts that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 228, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 228, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation and Culture and the Arts,

________________________________

CHRIS LEE, Chair