STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1675

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 706

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 Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 706, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HIGHWAY SAFETY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require all skateboard users under the age of sixteen to wear a helmet while operating a skateboard.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation, Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition, and one individual.

Your Committee finds that according to the National Institute on Mental Health, the pre-frontal cortex of a person's brain is one of the last parts to fully mature. The pre-frontal cortex is a critical area of the brain that is responsible for skills like planning, prioritizing, and making good decisions, and does not fully develop until a person is in their mid-to-late twenties. Your Committee further finds that, according to the National Library of Medicine, wearing a helmet while skateboarding reduces the risk of head injuries by up to eighty-eight percent. This measure will protect the still developing and maturing brains of children in the State by requiring them to wear a helmet while operating a skateboard.

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. 706, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

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

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KARL RHOADS, Chair