STAND. COM. REP. NO. 137

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1086

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation and Culture and the Arts, to which was referred S.B. No. 1086 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to amend the composition and duties of the State Highway Safety Council.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Ulupono Initiative.

Your Committee finds that the Department of Transportation manages and spends more taxpayer dollars than nearly any other state agency. Most departments of transportation throughout the country have robust mechanisms to ensure funds are best spent, including oversight commissions and regular reporting. Additionally, robust transparency and accountability are necessary to ensure that the State makes meaningful progress on transportation policy and projects. Amending the composition and scope of responsibilities of the State Highway Safety Council will allow the State to establish mechanisms enabling better transparency, accountability, and progress to public policy goals to improve transportation outcomes for all state transportation projects.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Amending the composition of the State Highway Safety Council to include:

(A) The Chairperson and Executive Director of the Charter School Commission;

(B) The Chairperson of the University of Hawaii at Manoa Department of Urban and Regional Planning;

(C) The Co-Chairpersons of the Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission;

(D) The Director of the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development;

(E) The Chief Energy Officer of the Hawaii State Energy Office;

(F) A representative of the University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources with expertise in landscaping; and

(G) Not more than twelve additional individuals representing specified transportation needs of Hawaii's communities;

(2) Expanding the State Highway Safety Council's scope of responsibilities to include:

(A) Ensuring transparency and oversight in programs, projects, decisions, and spending related to ground transportation;

(B) Establishing metrics and benchmarks for the Department of Transportation to ensure progress on certain state goals;

(C) Reviewing projects in development and making recommendations for improvements, if warranted, to meet state goals;

(D) Providing direction to the Department of Transportation and making recommendations to the Legislature as necessary to achieve certain state goals; and

(E) Submitting an annual report to the Department of Transportation on the Council's work, responsibilities, and recommendations;

(3) Retaining existing Council members in membership slots that align with their respective expertise;

(4) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose; and

(5) 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 Transportation and Culture and the Arts that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1086, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1086, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation and Culture and the Arts,

________________________________

CHRIS LEE, Chair