STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1302

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 667

H.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. 667, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require the Department of Transportation or appropriate county department when disposing of a deceased cat or dog from a public roadway to scan the animal for a microchip, record certain information, and report that information to the appropriate county animal services or animal service contractors; and

(2) Require certain county agencies to collaborate with the Department of Transportation in utilizing the Department's microchip scanners.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation, Hawaiian Humane Society, Action 4 Animals Hawaii, Animal Interfaith Alliance in Britain, Lucky Paws Animal Foundation, and twenty-three individuals.

Your Committee finds that mandatory microchipping for pet cats and dogs has been required by the State since January 1, 2022. While microchips are registered with the owner's contact information, employees of the state and county agencies responsible for disposing roadkill do not routinely scan the deceased animals for microchips or take any other measures to ascertain the animal's owner when dead cats and dogs have been killed on public roadways. By requiring appropriate state and county employees to scan an animal for a microchip, this measure will provide pet owners with closure if their missing pet is found deceased by state and county agencies.

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. 667, H.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

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CHRIS LEE, Chair