STAND. COM. REP. NO. 862

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1180

       S.D. 2

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1180, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to comply with federal laws applicable to Metropolitan Planning Organizations.

     Specifically, this measure:

     (1)  Adds a new chapter to the Hawaii Revised Statutes with revised requirements for Metropolitan Planning Organizations; and

     (2)  Repeals chapter 279E, entitled "Metropolitan Planning Organization," Hawaii Revised Statutes.

     Your Committee received comments in support of this measure from the Department of Planning and Permitting of the City and County of Honolulu, Department of Transportation Services of the City and County of Honolulu, and Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization.

     Your Committee finds that a recent review of the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization found that provisions of chapter 279E, Hawaii Revised Statutes, conflict with federal law.  Your Committee further finds that failure to address these conflicts could result in the decertification of the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization and the loss of federal funds.  Your Committee believes that this measure brings state law into compliance with federal law and preserves essential roadway and transit funding for the island of Oahu.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting a reference to seed funding of $500,000 to be deposited into the metropolitan planning organization revolving fund;

     (2)  Specifying that legislative appropriations to the metropolitan planning organization revolving fund will be out of the state highway fund;

     (3)  Adding an appropriation of an unspecified amount from the state highway fund for fiscal biennium 2015-2017 to the metropolitan planning organization revolving fund;

     (4)  Adding an appropriation of an unspecified amount out of the metropolitan planning organization revolving fund for fiscal biennium 2015-2017 to be expended by the Department of Transportation for the purpose of the measure; and

     (5)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1180, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1180, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

________________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair