STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2870

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 3287

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 3287, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TOWING COMPANIES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Change the fees that a towing company may charge to tow vehicles left unattended on private and public property; and

(2) Allow a towing company or parking management company to charge a fee for the placement or removal of vehicle immobilization devices.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Pinky Tows Pacific, Inc.; Finest Towing; RJ's Towing and Recovery; IEH Towing, LLC; Honolulu Towing, Inc.; Cachola Towing, LLC; and five individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Office of Consumer Protection of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and Hawaii Insurers Council.

Your Committee finds that certain statutory tow rates for vehicles left unattended on private and public property have remained the same since they were last amended by Act 269, Session Laws of Hawaii 2007. Your Committee recognizes that in the near decade and a half since then, the cost of operating a business in the State has increased, including the costs of labor, fuel, insurance, and towing equipment. Therefore, this measure will provide much needed assistance to the towing industry and ensure that the actual cost of a tow is reflected in the statutory rates allowed per tow. Further, this measure will allow towing and parking management companies to take advantage of the innovative vehicle immobilization technologies that have emerged on the market.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language that requires towing companies that charge fees to tow vehicles left unattended on private and public property and towing or parking management companies that charge fees for the placement or removal of vehicle immobilization devices to:

(A) Accept payment by the vehicle owner for the charges by cash, credit card, and debit card; and

(B) Prohibit the company from directing an individual to use an on-site automated teller machine in lieu of accepting payment by credit card and debit card; and

(2) 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 Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3287, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3287, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection,

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JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair