STAND. COM. REP. NO. 642

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 251

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 251, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANIES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Establish requirements and permitting procedures for transportation network companies operating in the State; and

(2) Make permanent the insurance requirements for transportation network companies and transportation network drivers.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Insurers Council; Uber Technologies, Inc.; American Property Casualty Insurance Association; Lyft; TechNet; and three individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaii Transportation Association; Charley's Taxi and AllWays Charley's, a TNC; Polynesian Adventure Tours, LLC; Robert's Hawaii, Inc.; and Hawaii Passenger and Property Carrier Association.

Your Committee finds that transportation network companies provide alternative transportation options to increase mobility for locals and tourists alike. As of this year, forty-six states across the country have passed comprehensive rideshare legislation. In Hawaii, transportation network company driver screening and operating requirements are currently only mandated for the City and County of Honolulu. This measure incorporates interested stakeholder consensus language to establish a comprehensive framework that ensures transportation network company driver screening and other operating requirements are mandated for all islands throughout Hawaii, not just Oahu. This measure further makes permanent the insurance requirements for transportation network companies and their drivers.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying the definition of "transportation network company vehicle" to mean a vehicle that is:

(A) Manufactured with seating accommodations for eight or fewer passengers; and

(B) Not a truck, truck-tractor, tractor-semitrailer, or semitrailer, as those terms are defined in section 286-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

(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 record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 251, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 251, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection,

________________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair