STAND. COM. REP. NO. 262

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1123

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. 1123 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require the State Highway Modernization and Safety Council to:

(1) Conduct a thorough evaluation of vehicle characteristics and develop a set of standards to identify high-risk vehicles; and

(2) Submit a report to the Legislature.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation and Hawaiʻi Bicycling League.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation.

Your Committee finds that a core responsibility of the State is ensuring the safety of all roadway users, including pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users. Your Committee further finds that it is necessary to conduct a review of how vehicle characteristics impact collisions between vehicles and pedestrians. By tasking the State Highway Modernization and Safety Council to conduct a thorough analysis of vehicle characteristics, this measure will provide the Council with the knowledge to better promote public safety.

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. 1123 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection.

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

________________________________

CHRIS LEE, Chair