STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1336-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: S.B. No. 2521

S.D. 1

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 S.B. No. 2521, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EMERGENCY SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Exempt emergency medical services personnel from commercial driver's license requirements; and

(2) Amend the definition of "authorized emergency vehicle" under the State Traffic Code to:

(A) Replace "ambulances" with "emergency medical services vehicles"; and

(B) Include disaster response and recovery vehicles and Department of Health vehicles.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation; Department of Health; Honolulu Emergency Services Department; Department of Human Resources of the City and County of Honolulu; and United Public Workers, AFSCME Local 646, AFL-CIO.

Your Committee finds that emergency medical services personnel perform critical public safety functions and often operate vehicles classified as commercial motor vehicles while responding to emergencies. Although these personnel receive rigorous training provided by federal, state, and county agencies to safely operate emergency vehicles, they are still required to obtain commercial driver's licenses, creating unnecessary administrative barriers that can delay hiring and increase costs for emergency medical services departments. Your Committee further finds that existing law does not fully reflect the range of vehicles used in modern emergency response operations. This measure addresses these issues by exempting qualified emergency medical services personnel from commercial driver's license requirements and updating the definition of "authorized emergency vehicle" to better reflect the vehicles used in emergency services.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

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

(2) 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 S.B. No. 2521, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2521, S.D. 1, 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