STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3314

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 2022

H.D. 1

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs and Transportation, to which was referred H.B. No. 2022, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to specify that the:

(1) County annual vehicle registration fee shall not exceed the state annual motor vehicle registration fee;

(2) Counties are required to spend a certain portion of the collected revenues from county motor vehicle registration fees and weight tax on roadway repair and maintenance; and

(3) County annual vehicle weight tax shall not exceed the state annual vehicle weight tax.

Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Office of the Mayor of the County of Hawaiʻi, Department of Customer Services of the City and County of Honolulu, and Hawaii Transportation Authority.

Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Tax Foundation of Hawaii and one individual.

Your Committees find that annual vehicle registration fees, which are imposed and collected by both the State and counties, are separately controlled. However, existing law does not outline how registration fees can be utilized, nor cap the amount of fees the counties are able to levy. Your Committees further find that this lack of uniformity has created disproportionate fees across counties and obscured expenditures made by counties utilizing the fees. This measure seeks parity between the State and counties to decrease ambiguity, improve transparency, and allocate revenue for critical road maintenance projects.

Your Committees note that residents in rural counties rely heavily on personal vehicles due to limited public transportation infrastructure. Given this lack of viable transportation alternatives, your Committees believe that the increase in registration fees established by this measure could result in a disproportionate impact on these rural residents. Amendments to this measure are therefore necessary to address this concern.

Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Limiting the provisions of this measure to counties with a population of more than five hundred thousand;

(2) Specifying that counties shall submit annual reports to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs and Transportation that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2022, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2022, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs and Transportation,

________________________________ LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair

________________________________ GLENN WAKAI, Chair