STAND. COM. REP. NO. 238

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 385

       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. 385 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

 

     (1)  Establish registration requirements and driver's licensing requirements for the operation of electric rickshaws; and

 

     (2)  Define "electric rickshaw".

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Las Vegas Tuk Tuk, LLC.

 

     Your Committee finds that the e-Tuk vehicle, an electric rickshaw certified by the United States Department of Transportation, is an emerging zero-emission vehicle ubiquitous in Asia, and now operates in thirty-two states.  As a zero-emission vehicle, the e-Tuk electric rickshaw can be designed to transport multiple people.  As the State seeks to achieve its clean energy goals and policies, the introduction and implementation of electric rickshaws may provide residents and tourists with a cleaner alternative mode of transportation.

 

     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. 385, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 385, 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