STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1303

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 862

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. 862, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to ensure that certain provisions of the Governor's August 2024 emergency proclamation on school bus services are codified in statute by authorizing the use of motorcoaches, small buses, and vans for school bus services under certain conditions.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation, State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization, Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice, Pearl City Neighborhood Board, Hawaiʻi Association of Independent Schools, Roberts Hawaii, and nine individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Education.

Your Committee finds that reliable and accessible school bus services promote student attendance, particularly for students living in rural and remote areas, as well as students who come from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. Your Committee further finds that there is a nationwide shortage of school bus drivers that is affecting the State, forcing the suspension of school bus services to central Oahu and east Hawaii Island.

Your Committee additionally finds that the Governor issued an emergency proclamation in August 2024 to address the shortage of school bus drivers by allowing the Department of Transportation to grant exemptions for the use of vehicles other than school buses to transport students; provided that the vehicle operator possesses a commercial driver's license with an endorsement authorizing the operation of vehicles carrying passengers. Your Committee believes that making this exemption permanent will effectively mitigate the effects of the shortage of school bus drivers in the State. Accordingly, this measure will improve student transportation services by authorizing the use of certain vehicles for school bus services under certain conditions.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Specifying that state agencies who purchase or lease buses seek vehicles that reduce dependence on petroleum‑based fuels;

(2) Defining the term "bus" for motor vehicle procurement requirements;

(3) Prohibiting the State from entering into any school bus contract if the school bus is not a zero emission bus beginning January 1, 2045;

(4) Defining the terms "pollutant" and "zero emission bus" for any school bus contract between the State and a contractor;

(5) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose; and

(6) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments 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. 862, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 862, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, 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,

________________________________

CHRIS LEE, Chair