The House Committee on Transportation on March 14 advanced SB 2342 SD2, which would update motor‑vehicle liability minimums and related traffic penalties, after an extended hearing in which insurers, consumer advocates and state officials presented competing evidence about likely premium impacts and uninsured driver rates.

Supporters, including the Hawaii Association for Justice and consumer advocates, said Hawaii’s $20,000 bodily injury minimum has not been updated since 1998 and that inflation has eroded protection. Evanoye of the Hawaii Association for Justice said replacing $20,000 with higher minimums (proposals included $50,000/$100,000 scenarios) would provide meaningful protection for crash victims and estimated premium increases of roughly $3–$7 per month to raise coverage substantially, based on filings and rate analyses presented to the committee.

Opponents included State Farm, the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, Hertz and other industry groups, which argued raising minimums risks pricing out low‑income drivers and could increase the uninsured/underinsured population. Mike Onofriere of the Hawaii Insurers Council and other industry witnesses presented national context showing many states retain $25,000/$50,000 bodily injury limits and noted Hawaii’s Personal Injury Protection (PIP) program and a state program that provides coverage for certain welfare recipients, which could raise assessments and premiums if minimums increase.

Outside expert analysis offered mixed conclusions: Jay Angoff reviewed insurer rate filings and concluded premium increases for minimums up to $50,000/$100,000 would be modest, and pointed to Hawaii’s relatively high auto insurance profitability as a reason carriers could absorb adjustments without major rate shock. Insurer witnesses disputed some interpretations of the Milliman study cited by supporters.

Committee actions included inserting language to make section 7’s Insurance Commissioner requirements effective before the remainder of the act and leaving blanks in the bill for future numeric limits; the committee set a defective/placeholder effective date of 07/01/3000 and passed the measure with amendments for further refinement.

Ending: The committee advanced SB 2342 SD2 with amendments and requested clarifications and technical fixes; debate highlighted a policy tradeoff between increased victim protection and affordability for low‑income drivers.