STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2142

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2053

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. 2053 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Authorize support documents used to transfer ownership of a motor vehicle to an insurer after payment of damages from the result of a total loss insurance settlement to be signed electronically; and

(2) Require insurance companies to indemnify and hold harmless the Director of Finance for any claims resulting from the issuance of motor vehicle titles utilizing documents signed electronically without a notary.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation; Department of Customer Services of the City and County of Honolulu; Hawaii Insurers Council; Copart, Inc.; and American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

Your Committee finds that authorizing the use of electronic signatures on supporting documents and eliminating notarization requirements will modernize the process for transferring ownership of a motor vehicle to an insurance company following a total loss insurance settlement. This measure reduces administrative burdens, processing delays, and costs for vehicle owners, insurers, and government agencies. Your Committee further finds that this measure includes appropriate safeguards, including indemnification provisions and a delayed effective date, to ensure orderly implementation while maintaining the integrity of the title transfer process.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Replacing the term "insurer" with "insurance company" for consistency with existing statute;

(2) Specifying that "supporting documents" shall include an application for duplicate title; and

(3) 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. 2053, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2053, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Judiciary.

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

________________________________

LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair