HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	399
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO MEASUREMENTS.

 

 

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

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that very strong reasons exist for Hawaii and other states to switch to the metric system, also known as the International System of Units or SI.  By using its customary system of inches, feet, ounces, and pounds, the United States is an outlier.  Only two other countries—Burma and Liberia—do not utilize the metric system as their predominant means of measurement.  The metric system is the language of science, medicine, international commerce, and most sports, and learning two measurement systems is time-consuming, can be confusing, and can result in costly and dangerous conversion errors.

     The costs of not utilizing the metric system are quickly increasing with the trend toward globalization, and could result in the United States losing its competitive edge in science and technology as well as continuing to create bilateral trade impediments with other countries.  The economic benefits of global interoperability greatly outweigh the challenges of converting to the metric system.  Product design, manufacturing, marketing, and labeling are all made more difficult by having to convert measurements from one system to another.  Switching to the metric system would likely result in the creation of many jobs and enable the current and future workforce of the United States to be more prepared to work in the international marketplace.

     The purpose of this Act is to promote familiarity with and utilization of the metric system by requiring its eventual use on all state or county signs that express a measurement of distance or speed.

     SECTION 2.  Section 486-102, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "[[]§486-102[]]  Systems of measurement.  The United States customary system of weights and measures and the metric system of measurement are jointly recognized, and either one or both shall be used for all measurement purposes in the State[.]; provided that when a sign prepared by or for a state or county agency is replaced, all measurements of distance or speed, if any, on the new sign shall be expressed in both the United States customary system of weights and measures and the metric system of measurement in the same font size.  The definitions of basic units of measure, the tables of measure and measure equivalents, the specifications, tolerances, and other technical requirements for measuring devices, as published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and adopted, or modified and adopted by the board, together with the measurement standards provided for herein, are recognized and shall govern measurement standards, measuring equipment, and measuring transactions in the State."

     SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

Report Title:

Measurements; Metric System; Signage

 

Description:

Requires public signs expressing measurements of speed and distance to be expressed in both the United States customary system of weights and measures and the metric system.

 

 

 

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