Bill Text: HI HB2691 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced

Hawaii House Bill 2691 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Taxicab Regulation; Criminal History Background Checks

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-02-01 - Referred to TRN, JUD, referral sheet 5 [HB2691 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2016-HB2691-Introduced.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2691
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to taxicab REGULATION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that section 46-16.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, authorizes the counties to protect the public health, safety, and welfare by licensing, controlling and regulating public passenger vehicle services, including the picking up and discharging of passengers from various unrelated locations by taxicabs. Therefore, the counties adopted ordinances and administrative rules that address the supervision, regulation, and control of the transporting of passengers or property for hire in a taxicab. The county laws provide for criminal history background checks on applicants for taxicab drivers' certificates to determine whether an applicant may pose a danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the traveling public. The legislature finds that the counties' authority to access the database of the Federal Bureau of Investigation or other agencies for the purpose of conducting nationwide criminal history background checks on applicants for taxicab drivers' certificates is not certain.

The purpose of this Act is to adopt statutory authority for the counties to conduct national and international criminal background checks on taxicab drivers and applicants for taxicab drivers' certificates. This Act will increase the safety and security of Hawaii residents and visitors who use taxicab services.

SECTION 2. Section 46-16.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§46-16.5 Public passenger vehicle regulation. (a) The legislature finds and declares the following:

(1) The orderly regulation of vehicular traffic on the streets and highways of Hawaii is essential to the welfare of the State and its people;

(2) Privately-operated public passenger vehicle service provides vital transportation links within the State. Public passenger vehicle service operated in the counties enables the State to provide the benefits of privately-operated, demand-responsive transportation services to its people and to persons who travel to the State for business or tourist purposes;

(3) The economic viability and stability of privately-operated public passenger vehicle service is consequently a matter of statewide importance;

(4) The policy of the State is to promote safe and reliable privately-operated public passenger vehicle service to provide the benefits of that service. In furtherance of this policy, the legislature recognizes and affirms that the regulation of privately-operated public passenger vehicle service is an essential governmental function;

(5) The policy of the State is to require that counties regulate privately-operated public passenger vehicle service and not subject a county or its officers to liability under the federal antitrust laws;

(6) The policy of the State is to further promote privately-operated public passenger vehicle service, including [~~but not limited to,~~] the picking up and discharge of passengers from various unrelated locations by taxicabs; and

(7) The policy of the State is to further promote privately-operated public passenger vehicle service by requiring jitney services not regulated by the counties to be under the jurisdiction of the public utilities commission. For the purposes of this paragraph, "jitney services" means public transportation services utilizing motor vehicles that have seating accommodations for six to twenty-five passengers, operate along specific routes during defined service hours, and levy a flat fare schedule.

(b) Any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, where not within the jurisdiction of the public utilities commission, every county may provide rules to protect the public health, safety, and welfare by licensing, controlling, and regulating, by ordinance or resolution, public passenger vehicle service operated within the jurisdiction of the county; provided that the counties shall promote the policies set forth in subsection (a).

(1) Entry into the business of providing public passenger vehicle service within the jurisdiction of that county.

(2) The rates charged for the provision of public passenger vehicle service.

(3) The establishment of stands to be employed by one or a limited number of providers of public passenger vehicle service.

(d) The counties may conduct a background check of the records stored in state, national, or international record repositories for any criminal history of an applicant for the issuance or renewal of a license, certificate, registration, or other approval for public passenger vehicle service within the jurisdiction of that county. The county may require an applicant to:

(1) Submit the applicant's fingerprints; or

(2) Submit the fingerprints of each of the applicant's control persons, executive officers, directors, general partners, and managing members, if the applicant is not an individual,

for submission to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and any governmental agency or entity authorized to receive the fingerprints for a state, national, or international criminal history background check."

SECTION 3. If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are severable.

SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Taxicab Regulation; Criminal History Background Checks

Description:

Authorizes the counties to conduct criminal history background checks of taxicab operators.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.