Senate Standing Committee on Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs

We're all ready to have this good day. And this is the Committee on Energy and Intergovernmental affairs and the Committee on Transportation for today's hearing on its agenda of February 5th, 2026. And we are in room 229 for the testifiers.

We ask that you stand on your written testimony or if you can limit your oral testimony to two minutes as well. The live and our couple video of this hearing can be found on the Senate's YouTube channel. Decision making will follow after the hearing from all the testifiers, time permitting as well.

We are on today's hearing, as mentioned. And I will turn this over to my nice colleague of the Energy and Intergovernmental affairs on SB2356, Senator Wakai.

Thank you, Chair Inouye. Members, we're on 2356, relating to parking. First in our testifiers list, we have Mary Alice Evans or someone from the Office of Planning. They have submitted testimony in support. Leah Laramee from Climate Change Mitigation Adaptation Commission.

Good afternoon, Chairs, Vice Chairs, Members of the Committee. Leah Laramee with the Climate Change Mitigation Adaptation Commission. We stand in support on our testimony. Mahalo.

Abbey Seitz from Appleseed Center has submitted testimony in support. Lyndsey Garcia from the Realtors. Thank you, Lyndsey. Eduardo Hernandez from the Hawaii Bicycling League.

Yes. Aloha, Chair. My name is Eduardo with the Hawaii Bicycling League. I stand on my written testimony. Glad to answer any questions.

Thank you. Members, that's all I have for folks who have indicated their desire to testify. Is anyone else here in the room or perhaps online that would like to testify on Senate Bill 2356? Yes. Please come. Thank you, Perry. Anyone else wishing to testify on 2356? If not, Members, any questions?

Yes, one second. Here's our Vice Chair.

Chair Inouye, did you have a question on this one?

Yes. Our Stadium Authority.

He's not here.

Oh. Anyone representing the Stadium Authority Board or the developer? Okay. And Chair, just to add, my question, and I support this measure. I think it's a good bill as well. But just to add, wanting to know if there's going to be parking built on the future housing or any of the activities that will be in that region if there's going to be parking garage?

Yes. According to Stanford Carr and his development, the mixed use development will include underground, low parking, and then they'll build on top of that parking structure. So instead of us having 70 acres of parking, we're going to have parking structures there.

Okay, that's that's pretty much the only question I had. Members of the Transportation Committee, any questions regarding this Stadium Authority and the building? And I think it's a good time... This is... And Chair, you've been very active in moving this measure.

This is one of the measures that needs to be passed as soon as possible because we're one of those that's saying, when are we going to get our stadium built? So anyway, nonetheless, I think that's it for me.

Yeah. But for the public, this bill is more than the stadium. This is all about housing and to reduce the cost of housing for our folks and reducing the requirement for parking that may not be as essential in the future. So thank you, Chair.

Okay. And Members, I think, because this is such an important measure and we have been busy with our role here. And some of you may not know, but many of us belong to other committees that have committees hearings almost at the same time. So I don't mind. We can take a measure. We can vote on this. No, we do. But on this particular one, if you want.

Oh, why don't you take the vote at the end?

Okay. All right. Just being nice.

You are very nice. Thank you.

Because we have other measures that I'm the lead. So he's giving me the authority to continue. I'm just one that wants to get to the people's work. Anyway. All right, moving along. And this is the Transportation on the need with the EIG Committee as well. SB 2081, relating to motor vehicles.

This authorizes a person to remove their name from a certificate of registration from a motor vehicle if that person is party to a divorce decree that states that title to the motor vehicle was granted to the other party. And City and County of Honolulu Department of Customer Services sends communication in opposition.

Anyone here representing City and County? Nonetheless. Lauray Walsh, an individual here in support. Is there anyone here wishing to speak on SB 2081? Members, any questions? Okay. Hearing none. Chair, you have anything to do with? We'll just continue on then. All right. Okay. If there's no question, we'll move on to SB 2699.

And this is relating to public transit. This establishes within the Department of Transportation a fare free youth transit program to be coordinated with the counties. It establishes a Fare Free Youth Transit Program Special Fund. It also requires biannual evaluations of the new program and special fund.

It allocates money from the Environmental Resource, Energy, and Food Security Tax to the Fare Free Youth Transit Program Special Fund, and it also appropriates monies as well and a report to the Legislature. Deputy Attorney General. Aloha. And thanks for being here as well. Appreciate the Attorney General's Office at our hearings.

Good afternoon, Chairs, Vice Chairs, Members of the Committee. Marjorie Lau, Deputy Attorney General. Our department has provided comments on this bill with the points contained in our written testimony. I'm available for questions. Thank you for the opportunity.

And please, why don't you please continue your conversation with regards to the comments and the opposition, or the comments that you want made.

Would you like me to?

Yes, please.

Okay, sure. So our comments concern, and they're really comments and recommendations to work on making sure that the special fund meets the requirements set forth in HRS 3752.3, which has certain elements for special funds and establishing them. And so there's a few of the items that we thought would be we would recommend. We would recommend addressing those particular items that we did not see as fully vetted out in the bill.

Thank you so much. Department of Education, DOE, Keith Hayashi or representative. Thanks for being here.

Thank you. Aloha, Chairs, Vice Chairs, Members of the Committee. Sean Tajima Assistant Superintendent representing the Department of Education. The department stands on our written testimony in support of this measure. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Thank you. Energy Office. Okay. Thank you so much. DOT. Okay. Department of Taxation. Okay. Anyone from DOTAX? Department of Health. Aloha.

Aloha. Hello, Senator Inouye and Chair Wakai. Thank you so much for hearing this bill. I'm Lola Irvin with the Department of Health. And Department of Health supports this bill. And we do believe in providing optimal health for our youth. And the process is to give the default options, right, for our youth to be physically active.

Only 18% of our youth meet physical activity recommendations. We know that people who take transit are more likely to walk and bike and get to places by building that physical activity into the day. And so SB 2699 provides that opportunity.

I was one of those kids that, if there weren't quarters, I wasn't going to be able to get places on the bus. And so I do appreciate that the barriers are being removed for our kids to be outside active and to be able to get to places. Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony.

Thank you very much. City and County of Honolulu DOT, Department of Transportation. Sends communication in support. Abbey Seitz. Or Seitz, Seitz, Seitz. Good first try. Thank you so much. Appleseed Center.

Yeah, thank you, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. My name is Abbey Seitz and I'm testifying on behalf of Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice in strong support of this bill.

We believe that free transit access has a potential for reducing transportation costs for families, expanding access to school and other recreational activities, lowering emissions and traffic congestion, and enabling our young people to be confident and independent.

Although we currently have a patchwork of different fare free programs across the state, access to these programs is uneven and leaves behind many thousands of our youth solely because of where they live, how old they are, and what type of school they attend.

By expanding free transit access to everyone under 18 and reducing administrative burdens of accessing transit, as this bill does, we can make better use of our public dollars while also expanding the mobility options for our young people. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you so much. Hawaii Youth Transportation Council. Good to see you. Thank you, Luca.

Thank you. Hello... What?

You're Luca?

Yes. Aloha, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. I'm Luca Cuniberti, the Hawaii Transportation Council's Policy and Legislation Chair. We've been working with Senator Inouye on getting this introduced in the Senate. This is a bill that, you know, the youth of Hawaii stand firmly behind. It gives our youth independence.

It gives affordability back to a lot of our families. You know, as you know, we've already heard, makes our communities a lot healthier, just connecting us a lot better in between islands. You know, what we've seen with Bill 54 is that it really propelled getting rid of youth ridership on our island here on Oahu.

And this bill gets rid of those barriers, especially with existing DOE Express. We're not discriminating against where our youth live, how much they make, how they're getting to school. So this is a bill that the HYTC and a lot of youth I've talked to are firmly behind. Mahalo.

Thank you very much. Hawaii Public Health Institute.

Aloha, Chairs, Vice Chairs, and Members of the Committee. My name is Lauren Loor. I'm the Healthy Eating Active Living Program Manager with the Hawaii Public Health Institute, and we strongly support SB 2699. Transportation is a key driver of school attendance. Even small fares create real barriers as Hawaii's cost of living continues to rise.

Keiki make up about 20% of our population and yet have some of the most limited mobility options. We already have proof that this could work. For Maui County or Maui Island, they offer free transit for youth. Hawaii County's free fare system has more than doubled its ridership.

Universal access would remove income barriers, improve attendance, reduce traffic and emissions, and connect youth to education, healthcare, and jobs. We hope to see a future where all of our youth are riding public transit on a regular basis and have the option to. So we ask that you please pass this bill, and mahalo for the opportunity to testify.

Okay. Thank you very much, Lauren. Dave Mulinix, Greenpeace Hawaii, or representative.

Not present on Zoom, Chair.

Thank you. Hawaii Children's Action Network. Nicole Woo, is that you on Zoom?

Yes, it is. Aloha, Chair Inouye, Chair Wakai, Vice Chairs Elefante and Chang, and Members of the Committees. Yes, I'm Nicole Woo from Hawaii Children's Action Network Speaks. And we work with a lot of parents around the state and we hear from them that high transit costs and limited school buses really pose a challenge for these working families.

These lower income and moderate income households and other families in rural communities find that their children, when they don't have access to affordable transit, have higher rates of absenteeism and they can't access extracurriculars and other learning or career opportunities. So that's why we support this bill and we really hope you'll pass it. Thanks for this chance to testify.

Thank you. Eduardo Hernandez, Hawaii Bicycling League. Thanks for being here.

Good afternoon, Chairs, Vice Chairs, Members of the Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. Hawaii Bicycling League is a 50 year old nonprofit organization actively committed to helping people walk, bike, and roll. We stand with our allied organizations here today in support of this bill to encourage free transit for children. Transportation is one of the most costly things for households, and this bill will help to address that need. Thank you.

Mahalo. Doorae Shin, Our Children's Trust. Aloha.

Aloha, Chairs, Vice Chairs, Members of the Committee. My name is Doorae Shin with Our Children’s Trust. With Earthjustice our nonprofit public interest law firm represented the 13 youth plaintiffs in the Navahine case, which resulted in a historic landmark settlement in 2024 which requires the state and HDOT to achieve zero emissions transportation by 2045.

This bill is one of many critical solutions that will facilitate progress on the Navahine settlement. It's also one of those rare solutions the Legislature that would create economic, environmental, and public health benefits. So we stand in very strong support of this bill.

Thank you so much. Let's see. We do have a lot of people that's interested in this measure. There is like 54 in support. I will call those that decided they want to be on Zoom or in person to testify first. We've done that. We'll continue. Zane Dalgamouni. Aloha.

Aloha. Aloha e ka Luna Hoʻomalu, ka Hope Luna Hoʻomalu, a me nā lālā o ke komite. My name is Zane Dalgamouni. I'm a freshman in high school and I live in Manoa. I'm testifying in support of Senate Bill 2699, and I believe that providing free public transportation will help to build independence in youth, as can be seen by me and my friends.

We came here today on the bus, and we feel like that enables us to connect with government and get to the place we need to go and work and school. And over time, it can build long term habits, such as lifelong transit use.

And with increased ridership, there will be increased advocacy for more efficiency and faster routes and more punctuality with the buses. And we've seen how the rail, we're wanting more ridership, and the only way that we could really do that instead of building more lines is by making it free and easier to use. And we stand in strong support of this. Thank you.

Thank you for being here. Pono Kaakua on Zoom.

Not present On Zoom, Chair.

Okay, thank you very much. Is there anyone else who wishes to speak on SB 2699? Please come on up. State your name, please.

Hi, my name is Grayson Phelan.

Can you speak in the mic, please?

Oh, yeah, of course. Hi, my name is...

You want to be heard, right? Okay, good.

Hi, my name is... Good afternoon. My name is Grayson Phelan, and thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of this bill. Recently, this summer, I moved from Telluride, Colorado, in July, and since then, my family has not had access to a personal vehicle.

At the same time, my mother has been recovering from a broken leg, making transportation to essential places very difficult. As a result, we have relied heavily on public buses and rideshare services, which can quickly become costly and inconvenient.

My experience riding buses throughout my entire life has shown me how important reliable and affordable public transportation is, especially for students. Many families in Hawaii depend on public transit every day. Some cannot afford rideshare services or are unable to drive their children to school.

And some students attempt toward buses with limited fares because that is all they can afford. These barriers directly affect access to education. While public transportation costs hundreds of millions of dollars annually, this proposal would cost approximately $9.87 million per year.

I understand that budgeting is complex, but investing in transportation that supports students and families is very essential. Access to education is a fundamental right, and transportation is a necessary part of that access. I respectfully urge you to give this bill your serious consideration. Thank you.

Thank you so much. I see another hand raised.

Good afternoon. My name is William Porter Smith, and I support Senate Bill 2699. I am a high school student in 9th grade, and I think that this bill would help many students across the state who are not able to afford public transportation, as well as helping reduce carbon emissions and providing a comfortable way for kids to be able to travel without the help of their guardians. Thank you for your time.

Thank you so much. Is there anyone else wishes to speak on SB 2699?

Hi, my name is Marti Townsend with Earthjustice, and I just wanted to go on the record as supporting this bill and all of the youth effort. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Is there anyone else wishes to speak on this measure? Okay. You're giving time again, Luca?

I'll just be really quick.

All right.

So I just want to say...

Say your name again.

Oh, yeah. Luca Cuniberti, Policy and Legislation Chair at the HYTC. You know, we just heard from some youth and just want to give a big mahalo to them for, you know, coming out here. You know, I don't know them. I didn't even know they were coming out today.

But it just reinforces that, you know, the youth are behind this. We're wanting to testify to this. We want this bill to go through. This is a very important bill for youth, for our independence, and for the environment, and for our families to, you know, be able to afford where we live, which is a very timely problem I see. Mahalo.

And you were one of those that started with this measure. You're the introducer with your advisors?

Yes.

Okay. I have a question for the advisor, DOT. I'm not sure. Are you available to respond to a question? Okay. Because we've been dealing with your deputy on this subject matter. The question I have is, and totally I support the measure. Just to let you all know. I have a question on the point of in case of an emergency. Now, so the buses, the transportation needs are provided.

They go to school and they take the same transportation back home or to where they're supposed to go according to what their parents decide that they should be at grandma's house or whatever. What happens when there's a hurricane or an incident that's not in control of all of us? What mechanism are we going to do with a plan?

Because they were picked up by the bus and the bus left and, you know, you're scheduled for after school, then the bus will come back or they'll take, you know, a skyline.

So that's the only thing I worry about is we need to have a plan as to what happens and what the parents decides what's going to happen. They remain in school or what direction. Oh, Laura is here too. She was involved. But anyway, so that's the concern I have in the back of my mind.

Yeah. So what I would say... Sorry, Ed Sniffen with Hawaii DOT. What I would say to that is, for all emergency situations, DOE is coming up with their plans for operations. Kind of circling back to the evacuation that we did for the tsunami event. Right. A good thing it was not during a non-school time. But if it was during a school time, I know DOE is working on plans to ensure...

This is a different story now. The parents are not involved.

But the plan from DOE is don't worry about your kids, we got them. That's the plan. So the plan that they're putting together is we're taking care of them for now and you pick them up when this emergency is done. So that's the plan that we're kind of working towards right now.

Okay, so parents go back then, pick up the kids. Are you saying?

After the emergency is done. After the emergency is completed, the city starts, the city and the county start up their transit operations again. So that'll start up again. The parents should know that... And I'm not going to speak for DOE. They can come and talk about their emergency procedures themselves.

But the plan is going to be we'll take care of your kids in this emergency situation. When everything opens up again, you can either come pick them up or when transit operations start again, they can take that again.

Okay. Yeah, that's just a concern that I had. DOE, anyone here? Come on up. Thanks, Ed. Appreciate it. Well, see, you had a plan, but a plan pre this measure. So now we have a different story. So can you share with us?

Are you asking about our plan for...

Well, yeah, just that, you know, you were working on a plan, and so now we have this presentation of different transportation so for the kids. So in case of emergencies, it's just a thing I want to raise.

Okay. Transportation plan in case of emergency. So I think for the emergencies, it depends on how the emergency comes out. So for like something like tsunami, we have inundation zones where they have to exit the area.

Only on the schools that are affected by the tsunami zone?

Correct. Yeah. So as Director Sniffen is sharing, as far as traffic is concerned, we're working with the Department of Transportation on how to set out a message for... Like with the last tsunami warning, traffic was crazy. I think a lot of us...

What I'm getting at is how we're going to work with the parents, you know, because we're changing, you know, the transportation needs. Because the parents were the ones that are not included with the transportation if the kids decide to sign up with the free transportation or the method, so they're not in the picture if the child decides to take the...

I see. I see what you're asking. I think with school bus it's a little easier, but with city bus I think we have to come up with procedures on how to deal with that.

All right. Yeah. I don't want to belay the discussion, but that's just a concern. And part of the recommendation that I would do on this bill. We're going to pass it, but I'm going to have and work with Committee Chairs.

The Committee Chair as well with regards to sometimes so will just have some time to come up with recommendation changes to the measure, to the bill, and defer decision making until the 12th. But give us some time to work on it, on the language itself. And I would appreciate if you folks would give me some recommendations to add to the measure.

Absolutely.

You know, and so and we're going to be... DOTAX, to help them, we will be changing also the data to July 2027. So there's some time that we can work on a very worthwhile bill and with the cooperation all of, you know, with all of you folks is important because we want to make sure that the kids are taken care of. Any questions, Members?

Okay, hearing none. Then let's see. Okay, let's move on to the last on the agenda. Oh, I'm sorry. Anyone else wishes to speak on SB 26... I'm sorry, 2699? Otherwise we'll move on. SB 2470, and this is relating to transportation.

This requires the installation of leading pedestrian intervals, accessible pedestrian signals, and other safety improvements as necessary at state owned or operated pedestrian signal hits. Requires DOT in coordination with the counties to develop a program that allows pedestrians and community members to request the installation of accessible pedestrian signals at specific intersections. DOT.

Chairs, Vice Chairs, and Members, Ed Sniffen, DOT. Stand on our testimony in support with comments.

Okay, thank you very much. Appleseed, Abbey Seitz.

Aloha again, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. I'm testifying on behalf of Hawaii Appleseed again in support of this measure. Leading pedestrian intervals are somewhat technical and wonky term for allowing pedestrians a few extra seconds to start crossing the street before vehicles are given the green.

Doing this makes it easier for drivers to see pedestrians and thus reduces the likelihood of a collision. Because of their extremely low cost and effectiveness. This has been a critical component for many cities to reduce collisions. And as I mentioned in our testimony, for example, in Seattle where LPIs have been implemented, there's been a 34% reduction in pedestrian injuries and fatalities.

As we also mentioned, it's crucial to pair these features with accessible pedestrian signals, which provide audible and other cues for folks to start crossing the street, which are really essential for blind and low vision pedestrians.

In the wake of pedestrian fatalities, and with 2025 being one of the most dangerous years in almost two decades, it's critical that we improve our safety, especially at intersections. And as such, we urge the committee to pass this measure. Thank you so much.

Thank you so much. Howard Lesser? Yes. Thank you for bearing with us today. Ed, can you help him, please? Thank you. Aloha.

Aloha. Can I stand?

Whatever pleases you.

Okay. Well, my name is Howard Lesser, and I'm a member of the Hawaii Association of the Blind, along here with a couple of other members. And so HAB is in strong support of this bill. Our members believe it is high time that audible pedestrian signals, or APS, are installed, especially in key high traffic areas.

APS will allow for much safer passage. Thank you. Oh, am I not loud? Okay. Thank you. Much safer passage for pedestrians who are blind or who have visual impairments, as well as persons with developmental disabilities, intellectual disabilities, and senior citizens like me.

HAB members have submitted their testimony on their experiences crossing streets without APS risking injury and having been actually been injured. HAB would prefer to participate in the proposed committees or community input to make recommendations on where APS may be installed. Mahalo for the opportunity to testify in support of this bill. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Appreciate you being here as well. Louis Erteschik, Hawaii Disability Rights.

Yes, thank you. Yes, thank you. I'm on Zoom. Yes, thank you. Thank you.

Are you there? Thank you. Aloha.

Aloha. It's good to see you and Senator Wakai and Members. I'm Louis Erteschik. I'm the Director of the Disability Rights Center. So we've been working throughout the interim.

Howard, by the way, is one of our advocates here at the center, as well as being involved with HAB. But I've been working with Howard and with Abbey on this issue. I also happen to be the Vice Chair of the Neighborhood Board in Waikiki. So we're obviously a high traffic area.

I think all of us can kind of appreciate the idea of a lead time. I mean, how many times are you trying to cross the street and you finally got the walk signal and you start going and then some car immediately makes a right turn and it's like, well, wait a second, I thought I had the right of way.

So I think the lead time is actually an excellent idea. In terms of the accessible signals, I mean, I don't mean it to sound facetious, but it's pretty obvious that crossing the street is even harder if you're blind. And so when you're trying to navigate all of that, particularly in a high traffic area, you're at a severe disadvantage. I looked at Abbey's testimony and I talked to her and the data she cites is really pretty impressive.

These other cities that have installed it, where they've seen like 40% reduction, I mean, that's really nothing to turn away from. So I would urge the committee to move this bill forward and work with the state.

I understand that we may not be able to get to every intersection tomorrow and that this might be a phased in kind of a process, but they could certainly at least begin to go out and inventory and prioritize. I think it's a great idea, Senators. And so I hope you, I hope you'll support it. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Eduardo Hernandez, Bicycling League.

Aloha, Chair, Vice Chairs, Members of the Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. As someone who walks and rides, this technology would really make a difference. I live and work in urban Honolulu and crossing the street is dangerous. I've experienced this technology in Washington D.C. and just those few extra seconds makes such a difference for visibility.

And so I would also urge that it not only applies to pedestrians, but also for cyclists who are proceeding straight in the right hand lane so that they have that extra visibility as well to protect them. Thank you.

Thank you very much. James Kennedy. Aloha.

Aloha. Thank you, Chairs and Committee Members. My name is James Kennedy. Real short. My wife Vickie is going to testify later in a few minutes. She's totally blind. And I support this for a lot of reasons, but mostly safety. I ask you to think of one thing. Crossing, let's just say, Punchbowl and King. How about Vineyard and Nuuanu? That's tough, isn't it? Shut your eyes.

That's my route as well.

Shut your eyes and think about, oh my God, how am I going to cross this safely? With that automated signal, tick, tick, tick. We have one in our neighborhood. It tells you when you've got the straightaway. It can save lives. And I'm telling you, you will save lives with this. Think about what I just said, crossing those major intersections with your eyes closed. Thank you.

I have a question for you since we're on the subject. Nuuanu on Vineyard. Because Nuuanu is one way, three lanes going West to East and then the reverse. Now, with that said, if you're on the Mauka side and you want, as like Nuuanu. So from Mauka side, then you want to cross, but you know that the traffic is coming from east to west and then there's the west to east.

Right.

Now, DOT. So with that said, can you come up? Okay, because when you have double sections of a road... Wait now, because we're talking... Are we talking only state or this involves city and county as well?

I think this is all roads. But Vineyard is ours.

Vineyard is yours. Okay, so what's the timing? And I think maybe we are coming up with another measure, I think, about pedestrians and crossing intersections. So in this case, because of this measure and the importance for those with disabilities, like the blind, how would that be possible to make sure that the sound, if they're entitled to continue the walk or do they have to stop? Because there are other bills that's coming up that tells us differently. So what's the best thing to do?

If you're talking about crossing it in one time frame. I mean, without a refuge. Then they would cross the entire street. So are you asking if vehicles should be stopping for them?

Yes, on both sides.

At this time, the law says once a person crosses the halfway mark of what you're driving through, then you can go, you can proceed. There are bills in this session that are requiring drivers to stop until pedestrian is fully clear.

Okay. All right. As long as we kind of understand that situation as well. Now we're talking about this particular bill, the benefits. There are some intersections, like as an example, Hilo Hospital, to get from the hospital to go across to the parking lot. And then there's a button that highlights the lights. Do we have this in Honolulu?

We have something like that. Yeah.

Okay. What about the poly? Did we end up putting the lights there as well? Not yet. Okay. We can deal with those other issues, but we have this before us. Any other recommendations you may have that we missed with the discussions for the, particularly those with the disabilities? No, we're all cool. Okay. We're going to take care of the problems, I guess. Yes. Yes. Senator Fevella. For Ed, please.

Sorry. Usually I pound the table. Anyway. The question that I get asked is that I know we're going to enhance all of this, which is great, but another thing that we need to roll out here and let the public know is education. Because some of them, when they see the light turn red or numbers, they're thinking they get that much time to get in them, they don't understand once the numbers come on, you're supposed to stop.

And people don't do that. So that's something that, I mean, I learned that from you. But anyway, I just wanted to bring that up so that people could get educated on that because they're thinking that they get that much time to cross. Once it turns to numbers, they cannot cross. Wait.

Once the numbers start flashing, you should not be entering that crosswalk anymore. If you're in the crosswalk, you can continue to complete.

Thank you. Thank you, Chair.

Any other questions? Since we're on that subject. So with your present light system, you already have it going, but now we're going to add the pedestrian intervals, and so hopefully it works in sync.

Yeah. So LPIs, the way it's working right now, we work with the city who runs our contracts for our signal contracts, and they're amazing partners. We're going through a program now to assess 25 of them per year to make sure that we can look at areas for LPIs and audible sensors as well.

I mean, audible as well. So we're looking through that portion right now. I think everybody should understand, though, putting APS is not just that easy. You can't just drop a pole in place, got to make sure that everything fulfills the requirements. And we got...

Potentially, in some cases, we got to make sure we put in new ducting in those areas. So it's something that we got to look at and ensure that we prioritize throughout the system to ensure that we get those areas with the biggest impact first.

Okay. With that said, when we did the traffic signals running the red light, I remember we had to... Or we did with the, if I remember correctly, we did in the statute to make sure that, or to proceed with only certain intersections.

Would you want to do that for this particular bill for now, or you're gonna it's okay to do all? Because we can be, you know, we can identify and include the language that we did with the traffic signals that you will decide what intersections is most important.

Yeah, we'd love to use data to suggest the highest impact areas for the system.

Maybe we can add that then. This is from which one? Yeah, yeah, we're going with that recommendations as well. Okay. You've done a good response in the comments and the changes that will be made. But we just wanted to ensure that people out there understand that, you know, these are measures that we need to recognize. It's important for the safety of our people and make sure that it works out. Okay. Good. Thank you. Thank you so much. You did mention that your wife will be testifying.

She'd like to, when you're done with your others.

No, we can take her now. Thank you. The best for last.

Her guide dog won't have much to say.

Yes. Sit comfortably, and state your name please. Whatever pleasure. Whatever you feel comfortable. Yes.

Okay. Aloha, Chair, Vice Chair, and Members. And Members of the Committee. My name is... My full name is Victoria Reiko Kennedy, and I am here with my guide dog, Buddy. And I also represent the Hawaii Association of the Blind, HAB.

I am on the Board of Directors of HAB, and I am really, really glad that this came up because I am very in favor of SB 2470. And this is with the APS, audio pedestrian signals. I cross Kapolei Parkway and Keoneula Boulevard almost daily. That's seven lanes of traffic in each direction.

That sounds like Senator Fevella's district.

Yes, it is. It is good to see you. And I have to tell you that having the APS there, it's such a relief because, as a blind individual, we have to rely on sounds. The sound of the traffic. Which direction is the sound going? Okay. And sometimes it's very, very hard to hear because of all kinds of noises. Okay.

But one of the other things that we don't hear, we're supposed to hear sounds. We don't hear electric cars. They're great for the environment, but they're not good for us. And so, you know, if you have the pedestrian signals, we know that. Okay.

I think it's okay to cross, but sometimes there might be something that will interfere, as, you know. And, you know, having the APS too, yes, it helps us who are visually impaired and totally blind, but it also helps the kupuna. It helps the keiki when they go to school crossing the street.

And I'd like to say it also helps the people who are excited because sometimes they're there at an intersection and they're so engrossed in looking at their iPhones that they forget that they're supposed to go. But if you have the pedestrian signals, they have a choice. Okay. So I am really in favor of this, and thank you for this opportunity to testify.

Well, thank you. And appreciate your presence here as well. Are you talking to a little dog? Oh. Oh, okay. I'm sorry. We missed he or she. Okay, thank you. All right. Thank you. Anyone else wishes to speak on 2470? Okay. Here and there. All right. Okay. Can you feel the mic?

Hello. Okay. Good afternoon. So my name is Antonio Vega. I am a board member of the Hawaii Association of the Blind. And as you heard already, yeah, we're in support of this. This is a great move forward. Safety is fundamental to being able to participate in society. It's great that Hawaii has buses.

It's great that we can go out into Hawaii and do stuff. But if we can't cross safely, then what's the point of the bus? If we can't make it to the bus stop, what's the point of the bus? So stuff like this helps people with visual impairments. I'm legally blind. It would help me.

It also helps other people travel safely within Hawaii, and it will also help the many, many people that... This is a reality. People, as they age, they will potentially face visual impairments. People in this room that do not have any visual impairments, in 10 years, in 20 years, may have some kind of visual impairments.

And at that time, having a safe crosswalk around or multiple safe crosswalks around Hawaii, around Honolulu will be something that will help them and could help other people outside of the Hawaii Association of Blind. So we strongly urge you to support this bill. So thank you.

You did send testimony as well, and so did 21 others. I did not call the rest of you, but just Antonio. We might be related. My mother's name was Antonia Vega. So, anyway, small world. Okay, thank you. Okay. And you're Antonio Vega. Never know. Okay, here we go.

Thank you, Chairs Inouye and Wakai and Members of the Committee. I'm Lola Irvin with the Department of Health, and I'm thoroughly enjoying this hearing. The Department of Health supports SB 2470. And what we would like is really optimal opportunities for everyone to live healthy. And so we know that this means that designing our communities for people first.

And unfortunately, we have really designed a car oriented built environment. So we built it, built our roads for capacity and speed. And so this bill really does provide an opportunity for people to be physically active.

I have three kids. I have a son that used to not want to hold my hand and said, you know, the drivers can't see you. And he'd say, oh, no, if they hit me, I'll hit them back. I was like, that doesn't work. And I'm a short person. And so I also walk a lot and these assets that are mentioned in SB 2470 would make it easier as a default for walking. So thank you so much for the opportunity to provide testimony.

And you didn't recommend any amendments yet?

No. And we're deferring to the Department of Transportation as the leader.

Yeah. Okay. All right. Thank you for being here. Yes. Even though there's, you know, no recommendation for language change or what. We appreciate your presence. All right. Okay, here we go, 2470. Are we going to say aloha? Anyone else wishes to speak on this measure? Okay. Hearing none. The Chairs.

Shall we go into decision making or decide on these measures before us? IT, the Committee on Transportation and the Committee on Energy and the Intergovernmental Affairs is going to go into recess.

Committees between the Committee on Transportation and the Committee on Energy Intergovernmental affairs we have four decision making on our three o' clock agenda. The first Bill is Senate Bill 2356 relating to parking. Senators have Chairs have conferred.

We really want to help reduce the cost of housing, particularly for those who would live in a multi family dwelling by reducing the parking figures that are currently attached to the permitting requirement. So the chairs have conferred and would like to pass this measure out with just one amendment.

That would be to defect the date to have this measure take effect. April 192042. Any discussion if not EIG Members? Senator Chang? I vote yes.

Chair's recommendation for Senate Bill 2356 is to pass with amendments. Chair votes yes. Vice Chair votes aye. Senator Coit? Aye. Senator Richards? Aye. Senator Trello? I recommendation is adopted.

Okay, thank you. The Committee on Transportation Chair's recommendation is to pass SB2356 with amendments. Any discussions? Committee on Transportation hearing None, seeing none. Vice Chair for the vote Chair votes aye.

Chairs recommendations to pass SB 2356 with amendments. Chair and Vice Chair vote aye. Senator Kuha, Senator Lee, Senator Dye. Madam Chair, recommendations adopted.

Okay, thank you. SB 2081, relating to motor vehicles. And this is the divorce decree stating about who the vehicle belongs to. Whatever decision they'll make. But Chairs decided we're going to defer this matter and some decisions has arised. City and County of Honolulu has some concerns, their DV agency anyway. So we'll have further discussions probably next year. So we're deferring SB 2081.

Same recommendation for EIG.

Thank you. SB 2699, relating to public transit. This is our biggie for today. Chair's recommendation that we're going to defer the decision making on February 12th at 3pm in this room, 229. However, the EIG Committee can also do the same day, but they may be in another room and an announcement will be made.

It'll be made right now. We will be making decision on February 12th at 3:00 o'clock in Room 224.

Okay. And some of the concerns, not the concerns, but we need to with this measure decide whether we're going to use the barrel tax for this measure. So it seems like we may have some issues with this. So we'll come up with a financial mechanism to make sure that this program starts. So don't worry. But we'll try to see what we can do, making decisions soundly and work with DOT as well. So we'll be deferring decision making on February 12th. And okay.

I made the announcement already.

All right. On SB 2470, relating to transportation, this is a very important measure for all of us. And Chair's recommendation is to pass with amendments. And we certainly add the recommendations that was given to us by the Department of Transportation. So measure is to pass with amendments on SB 2470. Okay. Any discussions for the Committee on Transportation? Pass with amendments. Chair goes aye.

Okay. Chair's recommendation is to pass SB 2470 with amendments. Chair and Vice Chair vote aye. [Roll Call] Madam Chair, your recommendation's adopted.

For Members of EIG, same recommendation. Any discussion? If not, Senator Chang, I vote yes.

Chair's recommendation for Senate Bill 2470 is to pass with amendments. Noting the presence of all Members. Are there any objections or reservations? Seeing none. The recommendation is adopted.

Okay. Aloha, folks. This concludes the Committee on Transportation and the Committee on Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs.

EIG Members, can we go next door to 224 for two bills? Thank you.

And the Committee on Transportation remains for our our agenda item. Thank you. Okay. I thought we did. This concludes.

Good afternoon. The Committee on Transportation is going into its hearing notice of Tuesday, February 5th at 3:01pm we are an hour later. However, we have measures today on this, just some housekeeping measures. We'd like to ask that for testifiers that you stand on your written testimony or limit your testimony to two minutes.

And the live and archival video of this hearing can be found on the Senate's YouTube channel as well. Decision making will follow after the testifiers and time permitting as well. Okay. We will then proceed with SB 2556. And this is relating to transportation.

And this prohibits any person from operating a motor vehicle equipped with an engine brake in certain areas.

It prohibits motor vehicles that tow a vehicle or trailer from driving in the far left lane on any roadway that has three or four more lanes for traffic moving in the same direction in a county with a population of 500,000 or more. That sounds like your. Your county. That sounds like your city. Okay.

And this establishes penalties as well. Okay. 2556, the Libertarian Party of Hawaii Green. Okay. In opposition, Devin Stats. In opposition. Are we on the same Bill? Yes, we are. Okay. We are on that. That's correct. All right. That's okay. All right. Is anyone else wishes to speak on 2556? Okay. Dot.

Hello, Chair, Vice Chair Members Ed Sniffin with Hawaii DOT. We didn't put testimony into on this Bill. We actually testified on the Bill. That's third on the list in SP2667. We support the intent of the Bill with the lane restrictions.

However, the difficulty that we have with this build in front of us now, very difficult for me to tell a commercial truck driver how to drive their vehicle. And if we tell them that they cannot use engine braking in that areas, I don't understand. I don't know the safety impacts that we would have. So we did not testify. But we prefer SP2667. Thank you.

I was going to add what is engine brake, but then I got educated. I think we all went. When the truck starts downshifting, I guess. Yes. Okay. Yes. We learned something new. All right. Okay. Is there anyone else wishes to speak to? Okay. Tina, is that you? Yes, that's me. Okay. Anyone? All right. And on SB2556 proceeding.

Aloha. So 2556 talks about brake usage and stuff. And so we are very much opposed to this Bill for the reasons that we put in our written testimony. And I'm sorry if you have not gotten a copy of that, but we will be sure to Send it in. But there's no scientific stuff and we want to be sure it's safe when our drivers drive. Thank you.

Okay. Tina. Transportation hd. Your organization?

Hawaii Transportation Association.

We do all.

Yes, we do all ground transportation.

Right. Good seeing you. Thank you. Anyone else wishes to speak to SB 2556? Hearing none. Let's move on to SB 2558, and this is relating to transportation. And this establishes an annual vehicle registration surcharge for vehicles having a hood height greater than 40 inches for deposit into the Safe Routes to School Program Special Fund. DOT. 2558. Okay. All right. Thank you. Attorney General. Good to see you. Thank you for being here as well.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. My name is Jose Vega. I'm Deputy Attorney General. We did submit a written testimony providing comments, generally relate to the potential omission of language from amendments Act 112, 171, and 212 of Session Laws of Hawaii. If you have any questions, I'm available. Thank you.

Thank you so much for being here. And Members, please, if you have any questions, you may ask of the testifier as well. City and County of Honolulu Department of Customer Services have comments as well. Tax Foundation. Tom, are you on Zoom?

Not present on Zoom, Chair.

Did she say not? Okay, thank you. And Members, Tom, as usual, gives us a good background of measures and also makes comments and there's some recommendations as well of his measure, if you did receive your his testimony. OahuMPO, Oahu Metropolitan Planning in support. Is there anyone else wishes to speak to 2558? Please come forward. Thank you.

Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. Tiffany Yajima on behalf of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation. I'm sorry that we did not submit testimony on this, but we'd be happy to file something for the record. Auto Innovators is opposed to this measure. We have some concerns. We feel like the real problem is speeders.

Habitual speeders and people who run red lights. We believe fines should be assessed on those people who do the unlawful behavior versus the people who are law abiding citizens. Thank you. I'd be happy to submit written testimony.

Okay, thank you. We're talking about the same bill? Yeah. 2558. Thanks. Thank you. Anyone else wishes to speak to SB 2558? Aloha. Come on up.

Steve Teves from Hawaii Automobile Dealers Association. We didn't submit testimony, but we'll submit with comments saying that we do have concerns about this of the relationship between the hood and where the fund would go and on to charge them for that. So we'll submit, but have concerns.

Sure. Well, for a person on my end and my thinking, I'm wondering why we're having vehicles that go up to 40 inches, you know? But I understand some probably commercial...

Well that's why we have just concerns because we need to review the bill a little bit more, the relationship with that to the Safe Routes where the money would go.

Sure. All right. Thanks. And yes. Sure, Senator DeCorte.

Thank you, Chair. So is your concern based on where the tax would go or...

Also that they're being singled out.

Identification of the vehicle.

Identification, both. But we just, we didn't catch it the first time so we just seen it now. So just wanted to make that we have some concerns. But is, you're right, Senator. It's the identification, that they'll be singled out, and then any relationship that why is it going into that fund.

Okay. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Senator Lee.

First of all, since you graciously took the chair. Love the shirt. I own the same one. Thank God I didn't wear it today.

Even though I was going to testify from back there. But yeah, since I'm up here.

Well, a couple things. Obviously I'm sure we'll get written something at some point. But notwithstanding that. Right now it seems I think to the point that the last testifier brought up about rates of speeding and fatalities and that sort of thing. From all the data I've seen going back well before any of us were really around, there's always been speeders. There's always been crashes and fatalities and everything else, unfortunately.

The data also, as I've come to understand it, just in the last maybe 15-20 years also illustrates that because the heights of hoods have got so high, and in the design of the cars, when those crashes happen and when those impacts happen, what used to be a regular, regular, a bad injury now results in a fatality much more often than it did before, purely due to the design.

And so this isn't my bill. But my assumption would be that, having that be the case, we have really two options. Because I don't think there's anything we can meaningfully do overnight anyway to change the amount of crashes that happen. People are always going to be speeding.

They're always, no matter the deterrence, this is just human nature. They're always going to be maybe on their phones or maybe not paying attention because they're in the middle of sneezing or whatever. There's going to be those situations.

And so I think it seems like we could either regulate the design of vehicles to improve outcomes when there's going to be a crash or we can try and take some other action. My understanding of the measure and why the Safe Routes Fund, I would imagine is to improve the intersections, the crosswalks, whatever it is for kids who are going to school in that case.

So that when someone who's driving a F150 or whatever it is that has that kind of more fatal, fatality inducing vehicle design does hit somebody, that maybe they're going a slower speed because of the design or maybe there's not kids that are going to be impacted because they have a safe sidewalk where they didn't before or, you know, whatever it might be. Does that, does that make sense?

It makes sense. But again, what Senator asked about, you know... And that's right. We're testifying with concerns. And I know this, if you continue the bill, but one of your questions, Senator, is, you know, it's the idea of notice.

So if you're going to put this on existing car owners, they bought that car without this law in effect. Versus someone who goes to the dealership, and representing the Auto Dealers, who know, well, if you buy this car then you got to pay X, Y, and Z. That's, I'm just talking out loud without getting into too much of the bill.

But that's also a concern is almost like retroactive versus, you know, going forward that someone who already bought the car now is having as an additional expense that they didn't wasn't in place when they did. Versus someone who goes to the dealership say, well, you know, this is going to cost you an extra thousand dollars a year or something.

Yeah. And I haven't been through the weeds on the bill yet.

...Nice aloha shirt, but that didn't seem to happen.

But that being the case, so if it is a, let's say new vehicle versus annual registration or whatever, I don't know what the mechanism is. Does that then satisfy the concern you raised?

Like I said, I barely saw the title and in some of the bills, so. Nice try, Senator. I've only been doing this a couple years.

We'll catch you the next committee. Go read it and then, you know, you won't have the excuse.

We won't, we won't have the testimony. We will. We're on the bill now. But that, that's a fair point.

There you go. Thank you, Chair.

Yeah, but there's also a fee charging a registration, addition to the registration.

Yeah, that's kind of one of my points is that that wasn't there when people bought it.

Correct. Correct. Senator DeCorte.

Thank you. I just wanted to follow up. So primarily in my... Sure. Okay. All right. Because you have such a nice shirt on. My concern is that in the district that I represent, have a lot of lifted vehicles who have been either abiding by safety check regulations, so they've been checking all the boxes as far as safety precautions.

I just am afraid that this might be imposed unknowingly. And then again, just having to incur a cost after all these years they've been compliant. So I just wanted to make that comment. Chair, thank you so much.

So thank you. No question.

I have a question for DOT and not Mr. Teves.

Senator Elefante.

Thank you. So in line of the questioning from Senator DeCorte, obviously the 40 inches, that would apply to what type of vehicles?

It'd be any vehicle. Because right now, the way I read the bill, there is no restriction on the type of vehicles it would, it would focus on. It could be a lifted vehicle that wasn't that high before. And as Senator DeCorte pointed out, that was legal before or it didn't have repercussions to it before.

One of my concerns is it could also apply to a commercial vehicle, and if it does, additional fees on those commercial vehicles end up being paid by all of us because of the goods that they, that they deliver.

So from my perspective, it was hard for me to testify on this bill at this time, given the impacts to people who already own a vehicle that could potentially be assessed these fees and the potential of these fees being assessed on a commercial vehicle.

And then I would imagine that it would be a little difficult to measure to what point of the hood height. Would it be the top? How would you define that?

Right now, I'm reading it as the top of the hood. And I think just more definition would be required. To speak to Senator Lee's concerns, I mean, it's real. It's a real thing. The vehicles that we see are higher nowadays than they were before in the past.

When people were hitting their lower extremities, they could potentially survive a collision at 35 miles an hour. Right now, that mortality rate is very high because the vehicles are being built higher with higher centers of mass, and they're being built for survivability of the people in the vehicle and not outside of it.

So the hoods, the way it's hardened now and crumples make sure that the person inside the vehicle has the best chance of surviving. It doesn't necessarily consider the people that are being hit outside. And we're working with California right now on a study for vehicle impacts and survivability to determine how best to handle things like this. And I can get at this committee that timeframe that the report will be done.

And then last question I have, Chair, if you don't mind. Currently, now, HDOT doesn't do recons, right?

We don't.

So everything that would be like a higher height would still have to go through safety?

That's right, yeah.

Okay, thank you.

I have a, it's more like a comment. I was very disturbed in my hometown, and this car was truck. And I'm sure the hood was to 40 inches. However, what was different about that was the two mirrors, passenger and the driver. That mirror was extended out. So is it legal for them? Can they repurpose or recondition that particular part of the vehicle?

And it was disturbing because, when I looked at the truck, it even went beyond the body. Right. So it's sticking out and it could be damaging to anyone. And if that car would have, that truck would get into an accident, different from any others, rather than just crashing or whatever, it could be involved with that type of, I guess, whatever the size is. But is that allowable?

So there are requirements or restrictions for protrusions outside of the body in safety checks. I don't know the number offhand and I don't know how far that one was sticking out.

It was pretty far.

Yeah. But there are requirements or limitations for those protrusions.

Okay. In our work, we'll just have to go find if it's legal or not and see what we need. And then we can do another bill sometime ago, sometime later. All right, thank you. All right, we were on SB 2558, calling for an aloha. Shall we move on? Okay. SB 2667, relating to transportation.

And this restricts motor vehicles that tow a motor vehicle or trailer from the far left lane on roads with three or more lanes going in the same direction with exemptions. Dot.

Thank you. Vice chair Members. Transportation stand in support.

Okay, thank you. Tina, are you still on Hawaii Transportation Association?

Aloha. I'm Tina Yamaki, the managing Director of the Hawaii Transportation Association. And we have some concerns with this Bill. We have some also recommended changes like changing and to or. And then also allowing all buses to be in the lane, not just public transportation. And I'll be around for questions. Mahalo.

Okay. We do have recommendations that on this measure. Tina?

Yes, we do have. Yes, we do have some recommendations, and it's in our testimony. I may have messed up the numbers, but we recommended changing and to or because there are some less lanes and stuff that and our and our trucks can keep up with traffic. And the other one is to allow all buses.

I mean, they all have CDL license. They're all trained. They all have defensive driving. So there's no difference between a city bus and a tour bus or transportation bus going in those lanes as well.

Okay, thank you. Thank you very much. Devin steps in opposition. Is there anyone else wishes to speak to SB2667? Okay. Hearing non Members. Any questions? Okay, let's move on then to SB269 relating to transportation. And this is beginning with the 2030 model year.

Requires new passenger vehicles to be equipped with passive intelligence speed assistance systems, beginning July 1st, 2030. Make circumventing or tempering with an active intelligence speed assistance system a misdemeanor. Requires DOT to select a vendor for the installation and maintenance of active intelligence speed assistance systems. 2696. DOT. Oh, yes, that's true.

Okay, Public Defender, thanks for being—you're, you're busy this week and I'm sure along with us until May 8th.

Yes.

Okay.

Yes, thank you. William Bento from the Public Defender's Office. Good afternoon, Committee Members. The, the office strongly supports the spirit of this measure to keep our highways safer. And maybe there's a little selfish part in there, because if less people are speeding, that's less work for us too. But we do have a couple of concerns.

One is the cost. Since we don't really know the cost of installing or maintaining one of these systems, it could adversely affect clients of ours that are indigent. The second part we have concerns with is the use of the word "tamper," which does have a connotation of, you know, doing something to something that will make it not work.

You know, that kind of understanding, but, you know, a little more exacting language so that it's established that a person does this with the intention to break the law would, I think, make it easier for everybody to understand what is being prohibited.

I'm just envisioning the fact that, you know, mechanics themselves may have to disassemble or disable it just to test the car, test the vehicle, and technically, they could be in violation. And there are some people that utilize their daily driver on the weekends for legal racing, and they would have to disable this to do so.

So, those would be our concerns, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Appreciate that. Thank you. Hawaii Auto Dealers Association. Well, you're not Melissa.

No, I'm not Melissa. I wish, I wish Melissa was here. Steve Devis for Hawaii Auto Dealers.

She's definitely prettier, but her shirt's probably not as nice.

She wasn't wearing the shirt today. Thank you, Senator. Okay. Just offering comments and just our concerns regarding if this Bill would have passed, increased cost to automobiles and just, and then, of course, the availability because, you know, being an island state, you know, we can only get what we can get, and we might not be able to get certain vehicles. Thank you.

Appreciate it. Thank you. Let's see. Alliance for Automobile Innovation, Tiffany. Okay. All right. Thanks for, yeah, being here in person as well. Austin Martin on Zoom.

Not present on Zoom, Chair.

Okay. In opposition. Okay. There are several that did send communications. Is AMPO here? Okay. Oahu, of course, the Metropolitan Planning. They, they support. McKenna Young. That's Mother Against Drunk Driving. Kyoni Shizuma, Victor Ramos, opposition. Ryan Willis, opposition as well. Anyone else speaking to 2696? Okay, hearing none. We'll proceed then with 20—SB 2680—relating to transportation.

This is safe, safe riding behaviors for electric bicycles. DOT.

Hello, Vice Chair, Members. Ed Sniffin with Hawaii Department of Transportation. We support this Bill, but we prefer the language that's in HB 2120. We've worked with the members and the drafters of that Bill significantly to put in the language that's necessary to be comprehensive to line out what's legal and what's not in the system and how best to use the—on these types of vehicles. Thank you very much.

Okay, thank you. Ulu Pono. SB 2680, in support. DCCA. Aloha.

Good afternoon. Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. My name is Jamie Yamamoto, appearing on behalf of the DCCA Insurance Division.

So, given the evolving nature of these devices in their power, function, and form, as well as the variety, the division just seeks language to clarify whether or not insurance would be something that's required to avoid any potential ambiguities later on. I'm available for questions. Thank you.

Okay, thank you very much.

Book the number. Yes. 2021. Not 20...sorry.

Oh, okay.

It's a totally different building.

Okay. HB, what was the House bills?

2021.

2021. Okay. Thank you. Hawaii Bicycling League. Thank you, Eduardo.

Eduardo Hernandez, Hawaii Bicycling League. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I've noted in my written testimony some recommendations that we have, just slight modifications for clarity and consistency. But I would like to bring to your attention, it has been more than 25 years since definitions for e-bikes have been adopted in statute.

As we know, affordability is one of the most pressing concerns for all of us. E-bikes provide an opportunity to have lower to transportation costs when they're adopted. At the Hawaii Bicycling League, I hear all the time that people say I would bike more, but I don't feel safe.

And so, we need to start building safety by, at this base level, updating these definitions so that we know what is considered an e-bike and what is not considered an e-bike. Thank you. If you have any questions.

Thank you very much. Nicole, is that you on Zoom? Hawaii Children's Action Network?

Yes, it is. Chair. Thank you. Hello, and Vice Chair and Members of the Committee. Nicole Wu from Hawaii Children's Action Network. I think we've all seen on the news how many of our teenagers and even small keiki are being injured and even sometimes killed on e-bikes here in our state.

In response to this rising number of e-bike injuries and even deaths, the DOE has put in some rules about e-bikes on their campuses, but we know that these students ride their e-bikes and other similar devices off campus and that's where these serious accidents are happening.

So, we also believe that this is time to clarify the state law, make it clear to everyone, children, their parents, so that we can, you know, disrupt this growing pattern of serious injury and fatalities among our children because of unsafe e-bike operation. So, thank you and please pass this Bill.

Thank you, Nicole. Youngi Overly in support. Jonathan...in support. Anyone else wishes to speak to SB 2680? We will continue then on to the next measure, SB 2695 relating to pedestrian safety, and this clarifies the driver's obligations at crosswalks. Attorney General. And we're going to see you often as well as our public.

I wish I wore a little shirt too now. Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee, Deputy Attorney General Mark Tom for the Department. Department provides just comments for Senate Bill 2695, specifically just maybe suggesting an alternative approach to some of the sections in this Bill.

In utilizing the current statutes that we have, 707-705, 707-706, which is negligent injury in the first and second degree, it covers a majority of the individuals that this Bill intends to protect. There is one small gap that you could utilize in this Bill that could protect individuals that are not currently protected in those two sections.

Right now, if you would like to, we have a suggestion here in putting in bodily injury to a vulnerable user by the operation of a vehicle in a negligent manner.

Right now, if a vulnerable user is—essentially somebody in a crosswalk—if they receive bodily injury, which is feeling pain when they get hit, struck, fire, negligent operator, that would still be now covered in terms of the failure to stop for blind or visually impaired pedestrian charge.

Although I understand the intent, as currently written, there might be some inherent proof issues that might be very difficult for prosecution to utilize this charge effectively, proving all the elements that we would need to hold somebody accountable. I will be here for any questions. Thank you.

Thank you so much. Public Defender.

Good afternoon, once again, Chair, Vice chair, Members of the Committee. William Bento of the Public Defender's Office. Excuse me. This is one of those rare occasions where all of a sudden, the Public Defender's Office and the Attorney General's Office seem to agree on some of these measures.

So, let me just speak to maybe one of the reasons why we do feel it's important, practitioners in this area, it's important that we keep the statutes very clear and that we don't have different statutes speaking to different specific things spread all over the HRS. It's best to keep it consistent.

I was just at a Committee earlier this afternoon dealing with our amendments and changes to the model penal code and the best part of that is that it's all written in the same place. It's much easier for us practitioners. In regards to the part of the Bill that deals with visually impaired individuals in the crosswalk, we do understand what Mr. Tom state about the concerns.

If, I think, you want to move forward in this area to protect this vulnerable group of people, we feel that it should be a violation, not necessarily a misdemeanor.

Misdemeanor carries with it a lot of negative connotations, including sometimes the inability to keep a job or to do certain types of jobs. You know, getting onto a military base for some people can be prohibited because of a misdemeanor conviction.

And we don't know what our federal immigration courts and enforcement officers are going to do with merely just a misdemeanor conviction for some of us in our community that may not be citizens of the United States. So, based upon that, we would ask you to consider the recommendations that we've put in our written testimony. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Prosecuting Attorney...County of Honolulu. Thanks for bearing with us today, patiently sitting down through couple of hearings today. Thank you so much.

Thank you for having me. Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. My name is Benee McFarland on behalf of the City and County of Honolulu Prosecutor's Office, and we are here in support of Senate Bill 2695 because pedestrian safety is a serious problem in Hawaii. The statistics are alarming. Just last year, nationwide, there were 7,000 pedestrian deaths.

Hawaii had the biggest jump in percentage with 73% increase. That's unacceptable and we need to act. The current law does have a gap. Right now, if a careless driver hits someone on the crosswalk and causes injuries, but not serious enough, it's just a traffic ticket.

This Bill fixes that by making it a misdemeanor to injure a pedestrian through careless driving. That's fair and it fills an important gap. Additionally, this law protects vulnerable people. Blind pedestrians can't see the cars oncoming. They're especially at risk. This Bill requires drivers to stop for them.

This Bill is reasonable and drivers still need to know or should know the person is blind. This is a common sense legislation that protects pedestrians and holds careless drivers accountable. We support it.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Okay. AMPO Oahu Metropolitan Organization in support. Eduardo Hernandez.

Yes, I stand—we stand—in support of our written testimony. Thank you.

Thank you. David Devinstats in support. Jonathan Jung in support. Is there anyone else wishes to speak, too? Okay. All right. Thank you. I missed you. Okay, thank you. SB 2691, and this is relating to transportation affordability.

Requires DOT to establish a clean, clean vehicle rebate program to provide rebates for purchases of lease of new and used zero emission vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. DOT.

Thank you, Chair. DOT stands in support.

Okay. All right. DoTax.

Yes. Chair, Vice Chair...Dpartment of Taxation. We'll stand on our testimony providing comments. Our Administration up here for questions if you have any.

Thank you so much. State Office of Energy. Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much. County of Kauai in support on zoom. Tom Yamachika.

Not present on Zoom, Chair.

All right. Isaac, stand—sitting there comfortably, going through others. Okay. All right.

Okay. Hold on. Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Committee Members, Isaac Moriwake with Earth Justice. Thank you, Chair, for introducing and hearing this measure which we strongly support.

We really do appreciate the support and collaboration of Hawaii Department of Transportation on this, and we've recommended some amendments to promote the affordability and equity aspects in this Bill even further, as well as fix some technical details.

So, real briefly, the Bill recognizes that our reliance on gas for cars is a huge affordability crisis and it hits our rural and underserved communities the hardest. We're talking about billions of dollars a year drained from our wallets and our economy. The good news though is that electrification is here.

It's already the cheaper choice, but the upfront costs are still a barrier, especially for lower income households. And so, here's how we can help. This is a market-based, market-centric, revenue neutral, revenue neutral, solution to open up choices toward cleaner and cheaper options.

It follows proven models for point-of-sale rebates at the federal level, numerous states, and across the world. So, especially with the Federal Government now abandoning support, here's how Hawaii can step up, keep progress going toward our decarbonization mandates, Navahine settlement, and offer real relief on cost of living for Hawaii's people.

It's a smart and needed investment for our present and future. Mahalo. And I'm available for questions.

You had an accompanying amendment to this?

It was an attachment of various amendments.

What you're offering then.

Yes, Chair.

To consider that as well.

Yes.

Okay. All right, Members, any questions of Isaac since he's here? Okay, thank you. Tiffany Ajima.

Chair, we stand on our written testimony in opposition.

Okay, let's see. Did you have an—your opposition was with regards to, not the entire Bill?

This is the—what is typically known as a feebate bill.

Yes.

So, Chair, Tiffany Ajima on behalf of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation. The auto innovators are opposed to this measure. So, we, we support section two of the Bill which would establish a rebate on the purchase or lease of new or used electric vehicles.

But we have concerns about the tax on gasoline car vehicles which would be used to subsidize electric vehicles. Thank you.

Thank you. Ted, I see you there on Zoom. Ted Bohlen. Aloha.

Aloha, Chair, Vice chair, Members of the Committee. Ted Bohlen on behalf of the Climate Protectors Hawaii. Like one of the previous speakers, I think this is a very good bill. It provides an opportunity to reduce the cost of living for many in a time we're all focused on that.

They will provide rebates to help rural and low and moderate income customers, especially on the neighbor islands, to afford the costs of transportation.

The prices of electric vehicles are dropping and they're already lower than fossil fuel vehicles when you consider the costs of fuel and maintenance over the life of the vehicle a lot cheaper, save a lot of money. So, this is an opportunity to help low and moderate income customers so they're not left behind as we transition to electric vehicles.

The transition is clearly coming, and we want to make want to be ready for it and help out those people, especially in the neighbor islands who don't have access to this because of the upfront costs. And the rebates would help. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Ted. We're time limited here. We'll need to go into decision making. So, I see that, Luca Cuniberti, are you on zoom? Oh, yeah, our Luca. Okay. All right. If you can summarize please.

HYTC stands on its testimony in accordance with our council members and the Energy Security Waste Capture Proposal. Mahalo.

All right. Thank you so much. Is there anyone else wishes to speak on this measure? Will—yes, come on up. Thank you. Sorry.

No, I'll be quick. Duration, Our Children Trust. We stand in very strong support. We want to support the amendments that were submitted by Earth Justice, and we really want to highlight that there are several affordability and equity components that make sure that the rebates benefit those who need it most and do not hurt the families that are hurting in Hawaii.

Thank you. Thank you very much. All right. We will then go into decision making into this measure before for us on the back end of the 3:01 PM agenda. And let's see, we'll take a short break. Going into recess, IT.

The Committee on Transportation is going into decision making on its Thursday agenda. February 5th. SB 2556 relating to transportation. Chair's recommendation on this measure is to defer. We will. Members will be approving or recommending on another measure before this agenda item on SB2667. We'll get to that. SB 2558, Chair's recommendation as well.

As we're going to be deferring this measure. There are some extensive notes we did receive from the Text foundation as well. Attorney General has sent in a bunch of comments as well. And we'll be deferring this measure at this time with regards to SB2558, SB2667. This is relating to transportation. This is that.

That tow a motor vehicle trailer, the three lanes. Chair's recommendation is to make amendments. And one came out of the HTA association changing the language to, from and to or. And also note that this measure suggests that all buses, not just public transportation and school buses, be allowed to use the left lane.

And the amendment would be that on B2, all buses, including public transit buses, school buses, tour buses, other commercially operated passenger buses, as well as authorized emergency vehicles, be applied on this measure as well. So Chair's recommendation is to pass with amendments. Vice Chair for the vote. Any questions? Vice Chair for the vote. Chair votes aye.

Chair's recommendations to pass SB2667 with amendments. Chair and Vice chair vote. Aye. Senator Kanuha, Senator Lee, Senator Decord. Aye. Madam Chair, recommendations adopted.

Okay. To SB 2696 relating to transportation as well. Chairs recommendation on this measure. Just to confirm, this is the deferment. For the House measure. That's not the SB 2021. Right. What was the Bill number? This is different.

This is 2696.

Yeah. One second. Yeah. Okay. The one. Yeah. But not this one. Okay. Okay. Okay. This is okay. Okay. All right. On SP2696, with this particular measure, the chair is going to defer this Bill. And there is the companion measure on the House that the Committee should consider.

And I recommend that we look at that measure since it's already been moving. So we'll be deferring SB2696, SB2680. And this is the electric bicycles. No, it's the same thing. Okay. 2. Who spirit is this, though? It's not. This is not the one. This is the one. Okay. All right. Okay.

SB 2680 A chair's decision will be deferring this measure as well. There is an HB 2021 that's forthcoming and the Chair likes the language in that measure as well. So we'll be going with that and deferring SB2680. SB2695 relating to pedestrian safety.

Chair's recommendation is to make amendments regarding the Attorney General's comments and amendments and the Judiciary comments as well. And we will be at the recommendation for to consider a little more lead time, we will be using the effective date as January 1st, 2027 at the Judiciary's request. Chair's recommendation then is to pass with amendments. Vice Chair for the vote. Chair goes aye.

Chair's recommendation is to pass SB 2695 with amendments. Of the five Members present, any no votes or votes with reservations? Hearing none. Madam Chair, recommendation is adopted.

Okay. SB 2691, and this is the Clean Vehicle Rebate Program. Chair's recommendation is to pass with these amendments. With DOTAX, they request that the allocation of the revenue to the special fund be replaced with an appropriation of a set dollar amount. And they request removing the date then as well to January 1st, 2027.

State Energy Office has a recommendation that provides the Chief Energy Office relevant data from the proposed program to fulfill the duties under their section 225B-8 and 196-71. We like part of the comments from State Foundation of Hawaii and the Earthjustice.

I tend to agree their opposition on the section, on the section three with regards to creating a higher tax, and that I believe will recommend that we delete section three. And DOT's notes that effective the implementation will require sufficient administrative capacity and that they would work with us to ensure that the resources, staffing are available so that we can move along with this measure. It does go to Ways and Means as well. So any discussions? Any...

Sorry. Just clarity. With all the amendments, will this still be creating a new fund of from the Transportation Affordability and Energy Security Tax?

Well, it on the section three... Yes. Yes. I will be deleting recommending that we oppose that section. Okay. All right. Vice Chair for the vote. Amending SB 2691. Chair goes aye.

Chair's recommendations to pass SB 2691 with amendments. Of the five Members present, any no votes or votes with reservations? Hearing none. Madam Chair, your recommendation is adopted.

Thank you. Right. Okay. This concludes the agenda for the Committee on Transportation.