STAND. COM. REP. NO. 890

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1667

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Ways and Means and Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 1667, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to improve traffic safety.

More specifically, this measure:

(1) Prohibits any vehicles from blocking marked crosswalks;

(2) Requires a person under arrest who refuses to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test to surrender their license to a law enforcement officer;

(3) Increases the duration of the suspension of a license when a person is arrested for driving under the influence and refuses to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test;

(4) Allows the appeal of any license suspension to be filed with the Administrative Driver's License Revocation Office;

(5) Authorizes the State Highway Safety and Modernization Council to implement an additional twenty-five photo red light imaging detector systems;

(6) Authorizes the Department of Transportation to implement an additional twenty-five automated speed enforcement systems in school zones designated by the Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee;

(7) Establishes requirements for the State Highway Safety and Modernization Council;

(8) Requires a report to the Legislature; and

(9) Makes unspecified appropriations to the Department of Transportation.

Your Committees received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Law Enforcement, Department of Transportation, Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice, and one individual.

Your Committees received written comments in opposition to this measure from two individuals.

Your Committees received written comments on this measure from the Judiciary.

Your Committees find that the prohibition on blocking marked crosswalks will improve the visibility and accessibility of pedestrians crossing streets. Your Committees also find that the automated enforcement systems have proven effective in reducing speeding and red-light violations in other jurisdictions. However, your Committees further find that the expansion of automated enforcement systems proposed in this measure will result in a dramatic increase in the number of traffic citations issued and likely overwhelm the current resources of the District Courts. The Judiciary's information management system will require significant upgrades to accommodate such an increase in traffic citations.

Your Committees note that the Department of Transportation has requested an appropriation of $2,800,000 to effectuate the purposes of this measure.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that the prohibition against vehicles stopping in and blocking crosswalks shall be enforceable with or without signs or curb markings;

(2) Authorizing the Department of Transportation to transfer appropriated moneys to county agencies to effectuate the purposes of the measure;

(3) Making an unspecified appropriation to the Judiciary to update its information management system to pull data from law enforcement citations and transfer the data into court records;

(4) Delaying, until January 1, 2027, issuance of citations for photo red light imaging detector systems and automated speed enforcement systems installed pursuant to this measure;

(5) Deleting language allowing the appeal of any license suspension to be filed with the Administrative Driver's License Revocation Office; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Ways and Means and Judiciary that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1667, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1667, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Ways and Means and Judiciary,

________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair