STAND. COM. REP. NO. 653-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 1696

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred H.B. No. 1696 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Lower the age of who may drive commercially within the State from nineteen to eighteen;

(2) Repeal the requirement that a person only operates category 3 vehicles to qualify to drive commercially in the State; and

(3) Require the Department of Transportation to amend its rules to lower the minimum age required for a commercial driver's license.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation; Department of Customer Services for the City and County of Honolulu; Hawaii Transportation Association; Hawaii Teamsters Local 996; Hawaiian Council; Hawaii Logistic Services; Island Topsoil, LLC; B & C Trucking Co., Ltd.; and seven individuals.

Your Committee finds that Hawaii's transportation infrastructure and supply chain stability depend upon a sufficient and well-qualified commercial driver workforce; however, persistent driver shortages continue to place pressure on local businesses, disrupt timely deliveries, and constrain economic activity statewide. Establishing eighteen years of age as the minimum for intrastate commercial driver licensure aligns eligibility with legal adulthood and high school completion, thereby creating an earlier and more structured entry point into the workforce for young residents, including graduates of vocational and technical programs. This measure updates and streamlines the State's commercial driver licensing framework to better reflect current workforce needs, while maintaining appropriate regulatory safeguards and safety standards to protect the public.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that a commercial driver's license issued to a person under the age of twenty-one is limited to intrastate commerce;

(2) Requiring that an applicant's employer agrees to train the commercial driver's license applicant for an additional amount of time and keep records of the training;

(3) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

Your Committee notes the Hawaii Transportation Association's recommendation of three hundred twenty hours of training.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1696, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1696, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation,

____________________________

DARIUS KILA, Chair