STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2458

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2746

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation and Culture and the Arts, to which was referred S.B. No. 2746 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HARBOR SAFETY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require that the securing of mooring lines from vessels requiring tug assistance to commercial docks, wharves, piers, quays, and landings be performed by a stevedoring company;

(2) Define "stevedoring company"; and

(3) Exempt, under certain circumstances, vessels operating on behalf of an authorized intrastate or transpacific water property carrier holding a certificate of public convenience and necessity.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 142; Operating Engineers Local Union 3; Hawaii Ports Maritime Council; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1186, AFL-CIO; Laborers' International Union Local 368; Hawaiʻi Gas; and more than two hundred individuals.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from Hawaiian Cement; Hawaiʻi Cost of Living Coalition; Hawaii Energy Marketers Association; Island Energy Services, LLC; Island Plastic Bags; Mendocino Forest Products, LLC; Par Hawaii; Retail Merchants of Hawaii; Contractors Association of Kauaʻi; General Contractors Association of Hawaii; and Maui Chamber of Commerce.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Transportation, Public Utilities Commission, Aloha Marine Lines, Building Industry Association Hawaii, and Sause Bros.

Your Committee finds that as an island state, Hawaii relies significantly on imported goods that are processed by the State's harbor system. Each day, approximately four hundred shipping containers arrive at Honolulu Harbor, including approximately three thousand tons of food. Tugs are utilized to tow large shipping vessels into the harbor. However, certain companies in the State are not required to use trained local longshore linespersons, or stevedores, to secure their operational vessels to the State's docks. Therefore, this measure ensures continuity of shipping operations at state harbors while utilizing trained, certified staff who understand the State's safety guidelines and best practices.

Your Committee notes that stakeholders are presently negotiating the language in this measure to promote safe labor practices that meet the demands of state harbor operations.

Your Committee has amended this measure by inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion.

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. 2746, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2746, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

________________________________

CHRIS LEE, Chair