Bill Text: HI SR132 | 2022 | Regular Session | Introduced

Hawaii Senate Resolution 132 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Requesting The Convening Of A Task Force To Determine How The Department Of Transportation Can Better Address The Rapidly Escalating Costs Of Transportation In Hawaii.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-1)

Status: (Passed) 2022-06-06 - Certified copies of resolutions sent, 06/06/22. [SR132 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2022-SR132-Introduced.html

THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	132
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

calling for immediate action to address rapidly escalating costs of transportation in hawaii.

WHEREAS, according to the 2022 Bureau of Labor Statistics report, Hawaii transportation costs have risen twenty-three percent in the last twelve months; and

WHEREAS, a 2021 report by Ulupono Initiative found that transportation costs averaged between $8,000-$13,000 per individual, and $20,000-$25,000 per two car families; and

WHEREAS, public costs from local, county, state, and federal governments to build, repair, and maintain public roads, regardless of vehicle ownership amount to $15,000-$24,000 per household; and

WHEREAS, gas, electricity, insurance, maintenance, and vehicle ownership costs are rapidly rising; and

WHEREAS, according to the United States Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration calculations, taxpayers pay indirect costs around $3.3 billion annually for injuries and fatalities, in addition to other costs such as congestion, parking subsidies, and emissions; and

WHEREAS, lack of bike, pedestrian, and public transit infrastructure disproportionately hurts lower income communities, particularly in urban areas; and

WHEREAS, a 2021 report by the Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization found that county and state expenditures on pedestrian and bike infrastructure result in safe bike, pedestrian, and public transit infrastructure being largely unavailable for most families; and

WHEREAS, it is unfair to force the forty percent of the population that does not drive to pay for infrastructure that does not apply to them; and

WHEREAS, if safe bike, pedestrian, and public transit infrastructure were more widely available to make commuting more flexible for families then many families could get by with one car instead of two; and

WHEREAS, additionally there is a generational shift occurring among licensed youth in Hawaii, from ninety-nine percent of licensees among Hawaii's youth in 2000, to just sixty percent today, and the State's infrastructure has not yet adapted to this decline; and

WHEREAS, according to the 2019 Statista Global Consumer Survey, eighty-six percent of the national population commutes by car, ten percent by public transit, and five percent by bike, but in Hawaii this is lopsided; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii can learn from other places that have successfully modernized and reduced cost of transportation for local residents; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, that a task force is requested to be convened to evaluate how the State can lower the cost of transportation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to:

(1) Look at modern best practices and successful examples in other places;

(2) Evaluate all relevant studies; and

(3) Conclude findings and recommendations; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to consist of the following members or their designees:

(1) A member of the Senate who shall be appointed by the President of the Senate and serve as co-chair of the task force;

(2) A member of the House of Representatives who shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and serve as co-chair of the task force;

(3) The Director of Transportation;

(4) The Director of the State Energy Office;

(5) The Superintendent of Education;

(6) The Director of Health;

(7) A representative from the Ulupono Initiative;

(8) A representative from the American Association of Retired Persons Hawaii;

(9) A representative from the Hawaii Bicycling League; and

(10) One member with expertise addressing cost of transportation in other jurisdictions; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the co-chairs of the task force may invite other interested parties to join the task force; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members of the task force are requested to serve without compensation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to submit:

(1) An initial report to the Legislature no later than December 1, 2022; and

(2) A final report to the Legislature no later than December 1, 2023; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Transportation, Director of the State Energy Office, Superintendent of Education, Director of Health, President of the Ulupono Initiative, Director of the American Association of Retired Persons Hawaii, and Director of the Hawaii Bicycling League.