Bill Text: HI HB1357 | 2015 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Motor Carrier Law; Ridesharing

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-02-02 - Referred to TRN, CPC, JUD, referral sheet 6 [HB1357 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2015-HB1357-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1357
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to the motor carrier law.

 

 

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

 

     SECTION 1.  Although Hawaii's motor carrier law regulates services that transport passengers by a motor vehicle on state highways for compensation or hire by requiring persons providing this type of service to have a certificate or permit issued by the public utilities commission authorizing such activity, the legislature finds that confusion has arisen as to whether ridesharing services are regulated under this law.  Ridesharing services offer transportation to persons using new technology, including websites and phone applications, to schedule pick-ups and drop-offs.  As such, the legislature finds that statutory language regulating motor carriers transporting passengers for hire or compensation must be amended to address evolving technology and its use in the provision of these services.

     The purpose of this Act is to regulate the use of ridesharing services under Hawaii's motor carrier law.

     SECTION 2.  Section 271-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§271-4  Definitions.  As used in this chapter:

    [(1)  "Chapter" means the Motor Carrier Law.

     (2)  "Commission" means the public utilities commission.

     (3)  "Person" or "persons" means any individual, firm, copartnership, corporation, company, association, or joint stock association; and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, or personal representative thereof.

     (4)  "Certificate" means a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued under this chapter to common carriers by motor vehicle.

     (5)  "Permit" means a permit issued under this chapter to contract carriers by motor vehicle.

     (6)  "Transportation of persons" includes every service in connection with or incidental to the safety, comfort, or convenience of persons transported and the receipt, carriage, and delivery of these persons and their baggage.

     (7)  "Transportation of property" includes every service in connection with or incidental to the transportation of property, including in particular its receipt, delivery, elevation, transfer, carriage, ventilation, refrigeration, icing, dunnage, storage in transit, handling, and its consolidation for the purposes of forwarding within the State.

     (8)  "Motor vehicle" means any vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer propelled or drawn by mechanical power and used upon the highways in the transportation of passengers or property, or any combination thereof determined by the commission, but does not include any vehicle, locomotive, or car operated exclusively on a rail or rails or a trolley bus operated by electric power derived from a fixed overhead wire, furnishing local passenger transportation similar to street-railway service.

     (9)  "Highway" means the public roads, highways, streets, and ways in this State.

    (10)  "Rates" includes rates, fares, tolls, rentals, and charges of whatever kind and nature unless the context indicates otherwise.

    (11)  "Common carrier by motor vehicle" means any person which holds itself out to the general public to engage in the transportation by motor vehicle of passengers or property or any class or classes thereof for compensation.

    (12)  "Contract carrier by motor vehicle" means any person which engages in transportation by motor vehicle of passengers or property for compensation (other than transportation referred to in paragraph (11)) under continuing contracts with one person or a limited number of persons either (A) for the furnishing of transportation services through the assignment of motor vehicles for a continuing period of time to the exclusive use of each person served, or (B) for the furnishing of transportation services designed to meet the distinct need of each individual customer.

    (13)  "Motor carrier" includes both a common carrier by motor vehicle and a contract carrier by motor vehicle.

    (14)  "Private carrier of property by motor vehicle" means any person not included in the terms "common carrier by motor vehicle" or "contract carrier by motor vehicle", who or which transports by motor vehicle property of which the person is the owner, lessee, or bailee, when such transportation is for the purpose of sale, lease, rent, or bailment, or in the furtherance of any commercial enterprise.

    (15)  "Enforcement officer" means any person employed and authorized by the commission to investigate any matter on behalf of the commission.  The term also means a motor vehicle safety officer employed and assigned, pursuant to section 271-38, by the department of transportation to enforce sections 271-8, 271-12, 271-13, 271-19, and 271-29 through the assessment of civil penalties as provided in section 271-27(h), (i), and (j).]

     "Application" or "app" means a type of software that allows access to an online motor carrier service provider.

     "Certificate" means a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued under this chapter to common carriers by motor vehicle.

     "Chapter" means the Motor Carrier Law.

     "Commission" means the public utilities commission.

     "Common carrier by motor vehicle" means any person that holds itself out to the general public to engage in the transportation by motor vehicle of passengers or property or any class or classes thereof for compensation.

     "Contract carrier by motor vehicle" means any person that engages in transportation by motor vehicle of passengers or property for compensation (other than transportation referred to in the term "common carrier by motor vehicle") under continuing contracts with one person or a limited number of persons either:

     (1)  For the furnishing of transportation services through the assignment of motor vehicles for a continuing period of time to the exclusive use of each person served; or

     (2)  For the furnishing of transportation services designed to meet the distinct need of each individual customer.

     "Enforcement officer" means any person employed and authorized by the commission to investigate any matter on behalf of the commission.  The term also means a motor vehicle safety officer employed and assigned, pursuant to section 271-38, by the department of transportation to enforce sections 271-8, 271-12, 271-13, 271-19, and 271-29 through the assessment of civil penalties as provided in section 271-27(h), (i), and (j)."

     "Highway" means the public roads, highways, streets, and ways in this State.

     "Motor carrier" includes both a common carrier by motor vehicle, a contract carrier by motor vehicle, and a transportation network company.

     "Motor vehicle" means any vehicle, machine, tractor, trailer, or semitrailer propelled or drawn by mechanical power and used upon the highways in the transportation of passengers or property, or any combination thereof determined by the commission, but does not include any vehicle, locomotive, or car operated exclusively on a rail or rails or a trolley bus operated by electric power derived from a fixed overhead wire, furnishing local passenger transportation similar to street-railway service.

     "Online motor carrier service provider" means any company, organization, group, or application that holds itself out to the general public to engage in the transportation by motor vehicle of passengers or property or that offers access to a motor carrier for compensation via the Internet.

     "Permit" means a permit issued under this chapter to contract carriers by motor vehicle.

     "Person" or "persons" means any individual, firm, copartnership, corporation, company, association, or joint stock association; and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, or personal representative thereof.

     "Private carrier of property by motor vehicle" means any person not included in the terms "common carrier by motor vehicle" or "contract carrier by motor vehicle", who or which transports by motor vehicle property of which the person is the owner, lessee, or bailee, when such transportation is for the purpose of sale, lease, rent, or bailment, or in the furtherance of any commercial enterprise.

     "Rates" includes rates, fares, tolls, rentals, and charges of whatever kind and nature unless the context indicates otherwise.

     "Transportation network company" means a corporation, organization, group, or sole proprietor, that provides prearranged transportation services for compensation using an application or app to connect passengers with drivers using their personal vehicles.

     "Transportation of persons" includes every service in connection with or incidental to the safety, comfort, or convenience of persons transported and the receipt, carriage, and delivery of these persons and their baggage.

     "Transportation of property" includes every service in connection with or incidental to the transportation of property, including in particular its receipt, delivery, elevation, transfer, carriage, ventilation, refrigeration, icing, dunnage, storage in transit, handling, and its consolidation for the purposes of forwarding within the State."

     SECTION 2.  Section 271-8.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§271-8.5  Advertising.  (a)  It shall be a misdemeanor for any person, including a person who is exempt under section 271-5, to advertise as a motor carrier of passengers or property, unless the person holds a valid certificate or permit required by this chapter as to the classification so advertised.  The term "advertise", as used in this section, includes: [the]

     (1)  The issuance of any card, sign, or device to any person[, or the];

     (2)  The causing, permitting, or allowing of any sign or marking on or in any building or motor vehicle[, or the ]; or

     (3)  The advertising in any newspaper, magazine, or advertising other than in-column listings in any directory, or the commercial broadcasting by airwave transmission, or any and all communications media[.], including offering motor carrier service through the Internet via an application or app.

     (b)  A licensee [may advertise in print or broadcast medium as described in subsection (a) only if the licensee includes in the advertisement] shall include in any form of advertising, the licensee's applicable and current certificate or permit number [and provides proof of the number's validity to the publisher or producer of the advertising medium].  The publisher or producer of a print or broadcast advertising medium or an online motor carrier service provider shall not publish or broadcast an advertisement or provide access for a licensee who does not provide proof of a current certificate or permit or who does not include a currently valid certificate or permit number in the advertisement.

     (c)  Upon notice from the public utilities commission of the entry of a final order of the commission pursuant to chapter 91 or a judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction, that a person has advertised in violation of either subsection (a) or section 271-8, the public utility furnishing the telecommunications service or an online motor carrier service provider shall disconnect that person's access to the application, telephone number, or telecommunications service number contained in the advertisement or listing.  A public utility or online motor carrier service provider complying with a notice to disconnect is immune from liability for damages resulting from its compliance.

     (d)  The publisher or producer of a print or broadcast advertising medium, or online motor carrier service provider, shall not be liable in any suit, action, or claim arising from its refusal to list or accept advertisements pursuant to subsection (b)."

     SECTION 4.  Section 271-38, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§271-38  Enforcement.  (a)  At the request of the public utilities commission, the department of transportation shall assign a motor vehicle safety officer employed by the department of transportation to assist in the enforcement of sections 271-8, 271-12, 271-13, 271-19, and 271-29, through the assessment of civil penalties as provided in section 271-27(h), (i), and (j).

     (b)  The commission may contract with qualified persons including investigators who shall be exempt from chapter 76 to enforce this chapter.  The investigators of the commission shall have the power to serve and execute warrants or issue citations to enforce the provisions of this chapter.  Whenever the existence of an illegal operation is discovered, the inspector may make a complaint to the district judge in whose circuit the operation is located, and the district judge shall allow a writ of injunction to abate and prevent the continuance of the illegal operation."

     SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

Report Title:

Motor Carrier Law; Ridesharing

 

Description:

Regulates ridesharing services under Hawaii's motor carrier law.

 

 

 

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