STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2642

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2943

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Transportation and Culture and the Arts and Labor and Technology, to which was referred S.B. No. 2943 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Establish a working group within the Department of Transportation to address the workforce shortage of commercial drivers license drivers in the State; and

(2) Require a report to the Legislature.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Food Industry Association and Hawaii Logistic Services.

Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Education.

Your Committees find that commercial drivers license (CDL) holders play a pivotal role in moving shipments from docks and airports to shelves, as storage space is limited within the State. However, Hawaii grapples with a shortage of CDL drivers, a challenge mirrored on the continental United States. Your Committees further find that this scarcity in the number of CDL drivers directly impacts the State's education system, where over two hundred additional CDL drivers are required to fully cover school bus routes statewide, causing some students to ride public transit. Due to the critical role that CDL drivers play in the State's infrastructure, this measure will establish a working group to address the scarcity and availability of CDL drivers.

Your Committees have amended this measure by making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Transportation and Culture and the Arts and Labor and Technology that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2943, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2943, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Transportation and Culture and the Arts and Labor and Technology,

________________________________ HENRY J.C. AQUINO, Chair

________________________________ CHRIS LEE, Chair