STAND. COM. REP. NO. 337-24

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2024

RE: H.B. No. 2112

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred H.B. No. 2112 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MOPED INSURANCE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require moped operators to carry an insurance policy.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from Hawaiian Style Rentals & Sales; Moped Doctors Inc.; Mopeds Direct Inc; and numerous individuals.

Your Committee finds that in 2023, there were at least four hundred seventeen crashes involving mopeds, the majority of which involved crashes with another motor vehicle. Your Committee further finds that moped owners are not currently required to purchase insurance for their mopeds. Your Committee believes that while there is value in requiring moped owners to insure their vehicles, there is a concern that this will increase costs for those who otherwise cannot afford a car and rely on mopeds as their primary means of transportation.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

Your Committee notes the concerns raised during testimony by the Insurance Commissioner that there may not be an insurance carrier in the State who sells moped insurance. Your Committee therefore respectfully requests your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, should it deliberate on this measure, to amend this measure to grant the Insurance Commissioner the authority to suspend the requirement that moped owners purchase insurance if no insurance carriers in the State offer this type of insurance.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2112, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2112, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation,

____________________________

CHRIS TODD, Chair