STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1122

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1418

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1418, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NOISE POLLUTION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Establish a person's conduct that produces, or causes to be produced, noise exceeding a certain decibel level during night time hours in any area zoned as residential or mixed-use residential as unreasonable noise that constitutes the offense of disorderly conduct; and

(2) Appropriate funds for enforcement.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, Waikiki Neighborhood Board No. 9, and eleven individuals. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Honolulu Police Department, UNITE Here Local 5, and one individual.

Your Committees find that Waikiki and similarly boisterous and densely populated areas in the State are plagued by excessive noise pollution from noisy, backfiring mufflers and amplified loud music from cars, motorcycles, and mopeds. Your Committees further find that residents in these areas who were once able to sleep soundly through the night with their windows open to allow for cooling winds, must now keep their windows closed to minimize excessive street noise with some resorting to buying air conditioning units and noise-cancelling headphones to ensure a restful and undisturbed sleep. This measure seeks to improve the health and quality of life for residents living in the State's urban areas by restricting unreasonable noise exceeding a specified level during night time hours in any area zoned as residential or mixed-use residential zoned.

Your Committees have amended this measure by changing the noise restriction time period from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., to 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1418, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1418, S.D. 2.

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

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair

________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair