HB1797

PART I

SECTION 1. Chapter 286, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part XI to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§286- Automated vehicles; supervisor required. (a) Any automated vehicle used by a motor carrier to transport passengers shall have a supervisor on board at all times.

(b) A motor carrier that uses an automated vehicle to transport passengers shall:

(1) Ensure that each supervisor is properly licensed to operate the vehicle; and

(2) Establish a program to provide each supervisor with training and instruction related to the operation, capabilities, and limitations of the automated vehicle."

SECTION 2. Section 286-201, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding four new definitions to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:

""Automated driving system" means the hardware and software that are collectively capable of performing the entire dynamic driving task on a sustained basis, regardless of whether the system is limited to a specific operational design domain, if any.

"Automated vehicle" means a vehicle equipped with an automated driving system capable of performing all aspects of the dynamic driving task within its operational design domain, if any.

"Dynamic driving task" means all of the real-time operational and tactical functions required to operate a motor vehicle in on-road traffic, including:

(1) Lateral vehicle motion control through steering;

(2) Longitudinal motion control through acceleration and deceleration;

(3) Monitoring the driving environment through object and event detection, recognition, classification, and response preparation;

(4) Object and event response execution;

(5) Maneuver planning; and

(6) Enhancing conspicuity with lighting, signaling, and gesturing.

"Dynamic driving task" does not include strategic functions such as trip scheduling and selection of destinations and waypoints.

"Supervisor" means a human driver who is onboard an automated vehicle and who performs in real-time part or all of the dynamic driving task and dynamic driving task fallback for the vehicle. A supervisor may assume or resume performance of part or all of the dynamic driving task from the automated driving system during a given trip."

SECTION 3. Section 286-207, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§286-207 Exemptions, certain vehicles. [~~This~~] Except as provided in section 286- , this part shall not apply to the following vehicles, if such vehicles are in compliance with safety ordinances and rules of the county in which they operate and other applicable state safety laws and rules:

(1) Trucks, truck-trailers, trailers, or other nonpassenger carrying equipment having a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less, except vehicles used in transporting material found by the United States Secretary of Transportation to be hazardous under 49 U.S.C. section 5103 and transported in a quantity requiring placarding under 49 C.F.R., subtitle B, chapter I, subchapter C;

(2) Taxicabs as described in section 271-5(3)(B);

(3) Passenger carrying vehicles used by employees solely for their own transportation to, from, and during work;

(4) Passenger carrying vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 pounds or less used in car or van pools to transport less than sixteen individuals for the movement of passengers to and from work;

(5) A passenger carrying vehicle used for the transportation, without compensation, of persons for personal, recreational, or entertainment purposes;

(6) A passenger carrying vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less used solely for the transportation, without compensation, of the vehicle owner, the vehicle owner's family or guests; and

(7) A passenger carrying vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less used for the transportation, without compensation, of persons for the furtherance of their physical or mental rehabilitation or for social welfare activities."

PART II

SECTION 4. Chapter 235, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§235- Motor carrier automated vehicle supervisor training program tax credit. (a) There shall be allowed to each taxpayer subject to the tax imposed under this chapter, a motor carrier automated vehicle supervisor training program tax credit that shall be deductible from the taxpayer's net income tax liability, if any, imposed by this chapter for the taxable year in which the credit is properly claimed.

(b) The motor carrier automated vehicle supervisor training program tax credit shall be equal to the qualified expenses of the taxpayer, up to a maximum of $ .

(c) The total amount of tax credits allowed under this section shall not exceed $ for all taxpayers in any taxable year; provided that any taxpayer who is not eligible to claim the credit in a taxable year due to the $ cap having been exceeded for that taxable year shall be eligible to claim the credit in the subsequent taxable year.

(d) The director of taxation:

(1) Shall prepare any forms that may be necessary to claim a tax credit under this section;

(2) May require the taxpayer to furnish reasonable information to ascertain the validity of the claim for the tax credit made under this section; and

(3) May adopt rules under chapter 91 necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section.

(e) If the tax credit under this section exceeds the taxpayer's income tax liability, the excess of the credit over liability may be used as a credit against the taxpayer's income tax liability in subsequent years until exhausted. All claims for the tax credit under this section, including amended claims, shall be filed on or before the end of the twelfth month following the close of the taxable year for which the credit may be claimed. Failure to comply with the foregoing provision shall constitute a waiver of the right to claim the credit.

(f) As used in this section, "qualified expenses" means costs that are directly incurred by the taxpayer to establish and maintain a training program pursuant to section 286‑ (b)(2)."

PART III

SECTION 5. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 6. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect upon its approval; provided that:

(1) Part II shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025; and

(2) This Act shall be repealed on December 31, 2038, and section 286-207, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall be reenacted in the form in which it read on the day before the effective date of this Act.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1797
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII