STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2143

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2009

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred S.B. No. 2009 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require new number plates and tags or emblems for used motor vehicles transferred between private individuals.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Customer Services of the City and County of Honolulu, Office of the Mayor of the County of Hawaiʻi, and one individual.

Your Committee finds that in the event of a motor vehicle transfer, the transferor is vulnerable to liability during the period of time between the physical transfer of the vehicle and the buyer's official update of the vehicle's registration. Your Committee notes that transferors of titles of motor vehicles in the State continue to suffer from the civil and criminal penalties incurred by transferees who fail to officially complete the transfer in a timely manner or at all, leaving the transferor unjustly responsible for legal and financial obligations resulting from the action or inaction of transferees. The transferor should not be liable for any unlawful use of the vehicle on the part of the buyer during this period. This measure will streamline the transfer process and provide appropriate protections for transfers of motor vehicles.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting additional legislative findings;

(2) Inserting language that requires each county Director of Finance to notify all applicable state and local agencies upon receipt of official notification of a vehicle transfer from a transferor;

(3) Inserting language that requires each county Director of Finance to establish a centralized notification system for applicable agencies for every vehicle transfer by July 1, 2027;

(4) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose; and

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

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 S.B. No. 2009, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2009, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

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

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LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair