STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1636

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.R. No. 197

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Transportation and Culture and the Arts and Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.R. No. 197 entitled:

"SENATE RESOLUTION URGING ALL TOWING COMPANIES TO HAVE AN ON‑SITE AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINE TO ENSURE ACCESSIBLE PAYMENT OPTIONS FOR VEHICLE OWNERS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to urge towing companies to install and maintain an on-site automated teller machine to ensure accessible payment options for vehicle owners.

Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Office of Consumer Protection of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and one individual.

Your Committees find that towing services play a critical role in maintaining public safety and order by removing illegally parked or abandoned vehicles. Your Committees further find that vehicle owners who retrieve their towed vehicles often face challenges in making payments due to limited cash availability and lack of access to convenient payment methods. Your Committees conclude that provision of additional payment options for vehicle owners would reduce unnecessary delays in vehicle retrieval.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that would have urged towing companies to install and maintain an on-site automated teller machine at the location where vehicle owners retrieve a vehicle;

(2) Inserting language requesting the Office of Consumer Protection of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to convene a task force to assess issues related to the availability of accessible payment options at towing companies;

(3) Requesting the Office of Consumer Protection to invite any stakeholders to be members of the task force as deemed appropriate;

(4) Requesting the Office of Consumer Protection to submit a report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2026;

(5) Clarifying that certified copies be sent to the Executive Director of the Office of Consumer Protection, rather than the directors of the appropriate county departments and the director of the appropriate department of the City and County of Honolulu;

(6) Amending its title accordingly; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Transportation and Culture and the Arts and Commerce and Consumer Protection that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.R. No. 197, as amended herein, and recommend its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.R. No. 197, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Transportation and Culture and the Arts and Commerce and Consumer Protection,

________________________________ JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair

________________________________ CHRIS LEE, Chair