HB59

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	59
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to disabled veterans.

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

SECTION 1. Section 249-31.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§249-31.5 Exemptions from state and county registration fees, highway beautification fees, and vehicle weight taxes for certain vehicles; disabled veterans. (a) A disabled veteran who:

(1) Is a resident of Hawaii;

(2) Has been other than dishonorably discharged from the United States uniformed armed forces; and

(3) Is determined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its predecessor to have a service‑connected one hundred per cent disability rating for compensation or a service-connected disability rating of one hundred per cent,

shall be exempt from payment of all annual state vehicle registration fees as required by section 249-31[;], county vehicle registration fees, vehicle weight taxes provided for in this chapter, and, if applicable, highway beautification fees levied pursuant to section 286-51(c); provided that [~~this exemption~~] these exemptions shall not extend to any vehicle used for commercial purposes or to more than one vehicle owned by the disabled veteran.

(b) The director of the office of veterans' services, in consultation with the policy advisory board on [[]veterans'[]] services, shall submit a report to the legislature and the department of taxation no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session providing the legislature and the department of taxation with the total number of disabled veterans who qualify for exemptions under this section [~~for the exemption from annual vehicle registration fees~~]."

SECTION 2. Section 249-33, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By amending subsection (a) to read:

"(a) All vehicles and motor vehicles in the State as defined in section 249-1, including antique motor vehicles, except as otherwise provided in sections 249-4, 249-5.5, 249-6, [~~and~~] 249-6.5, and 249-31.5, in addition to all other fees and taxes levied by this chapter, shall be subject to an annual state vehicle weight tax. The tax shall be levied by the county director of finance at the rate of 1.75 cents a pound according to the net weight of each vehicle as the "net weight" is defined in section 249-1 up to and including four thousand pounds net weight; vehicles over four thousand pounds and up to and including seven thousand pounds net weight shall be taxed at the rate of 2.00 cents a pound; vehicles over seven thousand pounds and up to and including ten thousand pounds net weight shall be taxed at the rate of 2.25 cents a pound; vehicles over ten thousand pounds net weight shall be taxed at a flat rate of $300."

2. By amending subsection (c) to read:

"(c) The exemptions provided by sections 249-3 to 249-6 and 249-31.5 shall apply to this section. The provisions for refunds, and taxes for fraction of years for vehicles removed from or brought into the State and for junked vehicles, contained in sections 249-3 and 249-5 shall apply to the tax levied by this section."

SECTION 3. Section 286-51, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§286-51 Registration, expense. (a) The certificate of registration for each motor vehicle in the counties of the State shall be renewed on a staggered basis as established by each county. The director of finance of each county may adopt rules to carry out the purposes stated in this section and shall expend the funds from the director's operating funds as may be necessary for these purposes; provided that if the director has ascertained as of the date of the application that:

(1) The registered owner has not deposited or paid bail with respect to any summons or citation issued to the registered owner for stopping, standing, or parking in violation of traffic ordinances within the county;

(2) The registered owner of a motor carrier vehicle, as defined in section 286-201, has not resolved any outstanding federal operations out-of-service orders issued by the United States Secretary of Transportation; or

(3) The registered owner has outstanding charges and fines owed to the county relating to the disposition of an abandoned vehicle, including for costs related to towing, storage, processing, and disposal,

the director may require, as a condition precedent to the renewal, that the registered owner deposit or pay bail with respect to all [~~such~~] summonses or citations, resolve all federal operations out-of-service orders, or pay all outstanding charges and fines relating to the disposition of the abandoned vehicle. The payment of all outstanding charges or fines relating to the disposition of the abandoned vehicle shall not be a condition precedent to the transfer if the abandoned vehicle was stolen or taken from the registered owner without permission or authorization and a police report for the abandoned vehicle is filed within a period of time, to be determined by the director of finance of each county, after discovery of the abandoned vehicle. The certificates of registration issued hereunder shall show, in addition to all information required under section 286-47, the serial number of the tag or emblem and shall be valid during the registration year only for which they are issued. Any certificate of registration belonging to a motor carrier shall be suspended or revoked when that motor carrier has been issued any federal operations out-of-service orders by the United States Secretary of Transportation and that certificate of registration shall remain suspended or revoked until all the federal operations out-of-service orders are resolved. The certificates of ownership need not be renewed annually but shall remain valid as to any interest shown therein until canceled by the director of finance as provided by law or replaced by new certificates of ownership as hereinafter provided.

(b) This part shall be administered by the director of finance in conjunction with the requirements of sections 249-1 to 249-13 and shall entail no additional expense or charge to the person registering the ownership of a motor vehicle other than as provided by this section or by other laws; provided that for each new certificate of ownership issued by the director of finance under section 286-52, the director of finance may charge a fee [~~which~~] that shall be deposited in the general fund. The fees charged to issue a new certificate of ownership shall be established by the county's legislative body.

(c) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, an additional fee of not more than $2 for each certificate of registration for all motor vehicles may be established by ordinance and collected annually by the director of finance of each county, to be used and administered by each county:

(1) For the purpose of beautification and other related activities of highways under the ownership, control, and jurisdiction of each county;

(2) To defray the additional cost in the disposition and other related activities of abandoned or derelict vehicles as prescribed in chapter 290. For the purposes of this paragraph, other related activities shall include but need not be limited to any and all storage fees that are negotiated between each county and a towing company contracted by the county to remove and dispose of abandoned or derelict vehicles; and

(3) To mitigate and address the impacts of tourism-related traffic congestion.

The $2 fee established pursuant to this subsection for certificates of registration for all motor vehicles may be increased by ordinance up to a maximum of $10. The moneys so assessed and collected shall be placed in a revolving fund entitled, "the highway beautification, abandoned vehicle, and tourism-related traffic congestion revolving fund"."

SECTION 4. Section 437D-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "vehicle license recovery fees" to read as follows:

""Vehicle license recovery fees" includes motor vehicle weight taxes under section 249-2; fees connected with the registration of specially constructed, reconstructed, or rebuilt vehicles, special interest vehicles, or imported vehicles as referenced in section 286-41(c); license plate and emblem fees under section 249-7(b); inspection fees as referenced in section 286-26; highway beautification fees as referenced in section [~~286-51(b)(1);~~] 286-51(c)(1); and any use tax under chapter 238."

SECTION 5. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 6. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Disabled Veterans; Motor Vehicles; Fee Exemptions; Tax Exemptions

Description:

Exempts qualifying disabled veterans from county vehicle registration fees, highway beautification fees, and vehicle weight taxes.

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

HB 59: RELATING TO DISABLED VETERANS.

Current Status:

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