STAND. COM. REP. NO. 445

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 973

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. 973 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require lessors of rental motor vehicles to incorporate zero-emission vehicles or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or both, into the lessor's rental motor vehicle fleets.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission, Ulupono Initiative, Kauai Climate Action Coalition, Chamber of Sustainable Commerce, Blue Planet Foundation, 350Hawaii.org, and thirteen individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from Avis Budget Group and Enterprise Holdings. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawaii State Energy Office.

Your Committee finds that many major vehicle manufacturers are planning to phase out the sale of new fossil fuel vehicles by 2035. However, rental fleets in Hawaii will be unable to adapt unless sufficient electric vehicle charging infrastructure is available at rental hubs and destinations. Transitioning rental motor vehicle fleets to zero-emission vehicles will reduce carbon emissions and increase the number of zero-emission vehicles entering the secondary market, making clean electric vehicles more affordable and lowering the cost of transportation for residents.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting language that would have required lessors of rental motor vehicles to incorporate zero-emission vehicles or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or both, into the lessor's rental motor vehicle fleets;

(2) Inserting language that requires rental car companies using state facilities to pay or reimburse the State to install new or utilize existing electric vehicle charging infrastructure at public facilities beginning January 1, 2028;

(3) Establishing a task force to determine implementation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure to support one hundred per cent electric vehicle rental fleets in the State by 2035;

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

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

(6) 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. 973, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 973, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection.

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

________________________________

CHRIS LEE, Chair