STAND. COM. REP. NO. 107

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1117

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 S.B. No. 1117 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) Rename the Electric Bicycle and Electric Moped Rebate Program as the Electric Mobility Rebate Program;

(2) Expand eligibility and amend the maximum rebate amounts;

(3) Prohibit individuals under fifteen years of age from riding electric bicycles;

(4) Amend the age requirement for helmet use from sixteen to eighteen years of age;

(5) Allow use of electric bicycles on public sidewalks, subject to certain conditions;

(6) Authorize rather than require that mopeds use bicycle lanes;

(7) Establish rules for electric bicycle operation;

(8) Change the term "motor scooter" to "motor-driven vehicle";

(9) Require annual reports to the Legislature; and

(9) Appropriate funds for the Electric Mobility Rebate Program.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation, Maui Police Department, Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization, Ulupono Initiative, Hawaiʻi Bicycling League, Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice, and four individuals.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from Moped Doctors Inc.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from one individual.

Your Committee finds that Hawaii residents pay among the highest costs to commute in the country due to increasingly expensive fossil fuels and a lack of cheaper transit options within the State. Established with the mission of assisting Hawaii families and individuals in replacing motor vehicles with alternative forms of transportation, the Electric Bicycle and Electric Moped Rebate Program has significant restrictions that have inhibited its reach and effectiveness. Your Committee believes that the Rebate Program must be expanded both financially, by increasing the rebate amount, and to include not only electric bicycles and mopeds, but also make eligible adaptive electric bicycles and other forms of electric micro-mobility devices.

Your Committee further finds that as the State encourages more individuals to use electric forms of transportation, roadway safety is a vital part of accident prevention and mitigation. Under existing statute there is an absence of safety measures required for individuals under the age of eighteen. Providing clarifying guidance for minors using helmets and electric bicycles will dramatically reduce accidents and increase public safety. The increased use of electric mobility devices also proves a safety issue for roadway users and motor vehicle drivers.

With these acknowledgements and specific concerns, this measure offers Hawaii communities increased electric mobility transportation options while addressing the accessibility, affordability, and safety of Hawaii communities.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Defining "electric motorcycles" to mean any electric bicycle equipped with a motor that provides assistance with a capability to reach speeds of over twenty-eight miles per hour or with a motor not less than seven hundred fifty watts;

(2) Prohibiting individuals under fifteen years of age from operating a class 3 electric bicycle;

(3) Prohibiting moped and electric motorcycle drivers from driving in bicycle lanes, paths, and other roadways designated for bicycles;

(4) Requiring electric motorcycle drivers to obtain insurance and licensing requirements, to align with motorcycle requirements;

(5) Changing the appropriations to an unspecified amount;

(6) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose;

(7) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

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

Your Committee notes that this measure, as amended, contains an unspecified appropriation amount. Should your Committee on Ways and Means choose to deliberate on this measure, your Committee respectfully requests that it considers inserting an appropriation amount of $700,000 for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027.

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 S.B. No. 1117, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1117, 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