STAND. COM. REP. NO. 211-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2031

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. 2031 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Establish the Administrative Hearings Division within the Department of Transportation and transfer certain administrative hearing powers to the Division, including matters related to automated red light camera and speed enforcement traffic citations, oversized and overweight vehicles on state highways, commercial driver's license appeals, on-demand taxi services at airports, transportation network company permit appeals, airport and harbor matters, and highway encroachments; and

(2) Beginning January 1, 2027, require:

(A) All marked vehicles operated by law enforcement agencies in the State and subsidized vehicles of law enforcement officers to be equipped with functioning dashboard cameras;

(B) Each law enforcement agency to establish policies and procedures and submit an annual report to the Legislature; and

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation and Hawaii Transportation Association. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Kauaʻi Police Department. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Judiciary and Department of the Attorney General.

Your Committee finds that the Department of Transportation handles a broad array of regulatory matters, including traffic citations, commercial licensing, and airport and harbor operations, that increasingly demand formal dispute resolution. Yet, the absence of a dedicated structure to manage these proceedings has created gaps in efficiency and consistency. To address these gaps, this measure establishes an Administrative Hearings Division within the Department to provide a uniform process for resolving appeals and contested cases under its authority.

Your Committee notes that the exemption from chapter 76, Hawaii Revised Statutes, for hearings officers included in this measure shall be limited to three years pursuant to existing law, unless affirmatively extended by the Legislature, and requests the Department of Transportation to provide additional analysis and recommendations regarding the necessity and duration of the exemption. Additionally, your Committee notes the request of the Hawaii Transportation Authority to expand the camera safety program to include enforcement against commercial vehicles operating without proper registration.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Adding the provisions establishing the Administrative Hearings Division within the Department of Transportation under section 26-19, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

(2) Clarifying the circumstances for an administrative hearing;

(3) Limiting requests for an administrative hearing relating to the regulation of transportation network companies to transportation network companies, under certain circumstances;

(4) Inserting administrative hearing provisions regarding the photo red light imaging detector systems and automated speed enforcement systems statutes;

(5) Clarifying the administrative hearing process for any suspension, revocation, or cancellation of a commercial driver's license;

(6) Deleting language that would have required all marked vehicles operated by law enforcement agencies in the State and subsidized vehicles of law enforcement officers to be equipped with functioning dashboard cameras, including related provisions;

(7) Inserting language to clarify the duties and operational authority of the Administrative Hearings Division;

(8) Specifying that the implementation of the Administrative Hearings Division shall be delayed by two years after the effective date of this measure, with nothing to preclude early implementation;

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

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

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. 2031, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2031, 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