STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2326

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2896

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. 2896 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Lower the age of who may drive commercially within the State from nineteen to eighteen;

(2) Repeal the requirement that a person only operate a category 3 vehicle to qualify to drive commercially in the State; and

(3) Require the Department of Transportation to amend its rules to lower the minimum age required for a commercial driver's license.

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 Transportation Association, Operating Engineers Local 3, and one individual.

Your Committee finds that lowering the minimum age for an intrastate commercial driver's license to eighteen years of age will expand the pool of eligible drivers at a time when many industries are experiencing persistent workforce shortages. Allowing qualified young adults to enter the commercial driving field sooner supports career development, skill-building, and long-term workforce retention. This measure will modernize and streamline transportation regulations while strengthening the State's workforce.

Your Committee notes the concern raised by Operating Engineers Local 3 that drivers under the age of twenty-one who operate a commercial motor vehicle should only do so under supervision and while enrolled in a state-approved commercial driver training program or apprenticeship program registered with the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Therefore, amendments to this measure are necessary to address this concern.

(1) Inserting language to specify that a person who is under twenty-one years may only operate a commercial motor vehicle if that person is actively enrolled in a state‑approved commercial driver training program or registered apprenticeship program as determined by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, provided that a driver under twenty-one years of age shall not operate a commercial motor vehicle outside the scope, supervision, or duration of the approved training or apprenticeship program;

(2) Inserting a definition of "state-approved commercial driver training program or registered apprenticeship program";

(3) Inserting language to require the Department of Transportation to adopt or amend its administrative rules as necessary to implement this measure, including licensing, enforcement, and coordination requirements with determinations made by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations regarding approved training and apprenticeship programs; and

(4) 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. 2896, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2896, 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