STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2042

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2025

RE: S.B. No. 106

S.D. 1

H.D. 2

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 106, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PEDESTRIANS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Establish a three-year Pedestrian Safety Pilot Program in each county with a population of two hundred fifty thousand or less, under certain conditions, that authorizes pedestrians to cross outside of a marked crosswalk;

(2) Authorize the Governor to revoke or abolish the Pedestrian Safety Pilot Program and overturn a county's request to opt-out of the Pilot Program;

(3) Authorize a county with a population of over two hundred fifty thousand to participate in the Pedestrian Safety Pilot Program, subject to certain conditions;

(4) Require the Department of Transportation to provide biannual reports to the Legislature on the impact of the Pedestrian Safety Pilot Program; and

(5) Require a driver of a vehicle to yield to a pedestrian when the pedestrian clearly indicates their intent to cross a roadway within a crosswalk.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice; Get Fit Kauaʻi; Hawaiʻi Public Health Institute; Grassroot Institute of Hawaii; Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization; ACLU Hawaiʻi; and five individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Transportation; Mayor of the County of Kauaʻi; Honolulu Police Department; Maui Police Department; Department of Public Works of the County of Hawaiʻi; Department of Public Works of the County of Kauaʻi; Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition; and two individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Health and one individual.

Your Committee finds that pedestrian mobility is an essential part of a sustainable and accessible transportation system. Your Committee also finds that from 2018 to 2023 there were 30,168 jaywalking citations given in Hawaii, with an average of 5,028 jaywalking citations per year, not including sealed cases or records for minors. Authorizing pedestrians to cross the street in a safe manner without fear of incurring a fine will promote equity in a transportation network that has historically favored the unimpeded movement of vehicles. This measure will reduce the inconveniences associated with walking which encourages residents to reduce their vehicle use. Your Committee also believes that counties with smaller populations may be better suited to test pedestrian-friendly policies without jeopardizing the safety of pedestrians.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that would have established fines for pedestrians if they engaged in behavior that created an immediate danger of collision with a moving vehicle; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 106, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 106, S.D. 1, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________

DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair