Bill Text: HI HB144 | 2010 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Medium speed electric vehicles; Traffic code; highways

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-05-11 - Carried over to 2010 Regular Session. [HB144 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2010-HB144-Amended.html

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STAND. COM. REP. NO.  533

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

 

RE:   H.B. No. 144

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred H.B. No. 144 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HIGHWAYS,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this bill is to work toward decreasing Hawaii's dependence on imported oil while protecting our environment from harmful emissions by offering an alternative means of transportation by allowing medium-speed electric vehicles to be operated on roads with a posted speed limit of 45 miles per hour or less.

 

     The Sustainable Transport Club and numerous concerned individuals testified in support of this bill.  The Department of Transportation (DOT), Department of Customer Services of the City and County of Honolulu (DCS), and a concerned individual testified in opposition to this measure.

 

     Hawaii is heavily dependent on imported oil for its energy needs.  One way to reduce some of this dependence of imported oil is to facilitate the increased use of electric vehicles.  While Low-Speed Electric Vehicles (LSEV) are currently allowed to be operated on Hawaii's roadways, they are restricted to operating at speeds of 25 mph on roads with posted speed limits of 35 mph or less.  Thus, LSEVs are not very desirable for use by the general public as an alternative means of transportation.  While LSEVs can be modified to obtain maximum speeds of 35 mph at which point they would be called Medium-Speed Electric Vehicles (MSEV), this class of vehicle does not exist in either federal or Hawaii law.  Establishing parameters that allow for the use of MSEVs on Hawaii's roadways will go a long way to decreasing our dependence on foreign oil and protecting Hawaii's environment from harmful emissions.

 

     Although your Committee understands the concerns raised by both DOT and DCS regarding the lack of federal regulations of MSEVs and that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration denied a petition for rulemaking that would establish this new class of vehicle, this measure deserves further consideration and discussion.

 

     Accordingly, your Committee has amended this bill by changing its effective date to July 1, 2050.  Technical, nonsubstantive amendments were also made for 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. 144, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 144, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

 

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

 

 

		____________________________ JOSEPH M. SOUKI, Chair