STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1345

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 958

H.D. 2

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 H.B. No. 958, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require all bicycles equipped with motors to be operated only with all wheels on the ground at all times, with certain exceptions;

(2) Prohibit certain actions while operating a bicycle equipped with a motor;

(3) Prohibit the operation of high-speed electric devices in certain locations;

(4) Require manufacturers and distributors to apply a label to electric bicycles;

(5) Require distributors to place a sign at or near the point of sale regarding electric bicycles;

(6) Require distributors to place a sign at or near the point of sale regarding electric bicycles;

(7) Define "electric bicycle" in place of "low-speed electric bicycle";

(8) Define "electric micro mobility device" and require the same regulations as electric foot scooters to apply to electric micro mobility devices;

(9) Prohibit a person under the age of sixteen from operating a class 3 electric bicycle;

    (10) Prohibit a person from riding a class 3 electric bicycle on a sidewalk;

    (11) Authorize a person to ride a class 1 or class 2 electric bicycle on a sidewalk at a speed not exceeding ten miles per hour;

    (12) Prohibit a person from operating a bicycle or electric foot scooter under the age of eighteen without a helmet;

    (13) Repeal the requirement that moped drivers use bicycle lanes; and

    (14) Substitute the word "motor drive cycle" with the word "motor scooter".

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation, Department of Transportation Services of the City and County of Honolulu, Honolulu Police Department, Hawaiʻi Bicycling League, Ulupono Initiative, Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women and Children, Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition, and four individuals.

Your Committees find 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. As rising transportation costs continue to strain local residents' financial resources, many people in the State are transitioning to alternative modes of transportation such as electric bicycles and electric micro mobility devices. With the proliferation of these electric forms of transportation, your Committees believe that additional safety measures should be enacted to protect all roadway users. Therefore, this measure will dramatically reduce roadway and sidewalk accidents through the implementation of regulations and classifications around electric modes of transportation.

Your Committees note that S.B. No. 1117, S.D.2, Regular Session of 2025, is a substantively similar measure previously passed by the Senate, that is intended to increase public safety by outlining regulations for alternative electric modes of transportation. Your Committees further find that certain provisions of S.B. No. 1117, S.D.2, are preferable because they provide clarity on a policy framework to manage and regulate new forms of transportation.

Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting its contents and inserting sections of S.B. No. 1117, S.D. 2, that:

(A) Define:

(i) "Adaptive electric bicycle";

    (ii) "Electric bicycle";

   (iii) "Electric micro-mobility device";

    (iv) "Electric motorcycle"; and

(v) "Motor-driven cycle";

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

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

(D) Establish rules for electric bicycle operation;

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

(F) Prohibit the use of mopeds and electric motorcycles on any path or road designated for bicycle use; and

(G) Prohibit individuals under eighteen years of age from operating an electric motorcycle or motor-driven cycle;

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

(3) 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 are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 958, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 958, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

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