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House Transportation Committee advances package of transportation bills, adopts multiple HD1s
Summary
The House Committee on Transportation on March 17 advanced a package of Senate bills—ranging from school crosswalk funding to cruise-ship fees and vehicle-title electronic signatures—passing most measures with amendments and directing further review where legal or equity concerns were raised.
The House Committee on Transportation met March 17 to consider a slate of Senate bills that had crossed over to the House, adopting HD1 amendments and recommending passage for most measures.
The committee moved SB 3234 SD2, which would appropriate funding for crosswalks at school properties and noted a requested amount of $5 million in the committee report. Multiple agencies—including the Department of Transportation (HDOT) and the Department of Education—registered support.
On harbor safety, SB 3215 was passed with amendments to make permanent a requirement that mooring-line work at commercial docks be performed by labor subject to collective bargaining. No members of the public testified on that item during the hearing.
SB 2698 SD2, which would establish a per-passenger cruise-ship fee and create a cruise ship special fund while repealing the transient accommodations tax on cruise ships, was passed with amendments; the committee noted DOT’s recommendation of $10 per passenger in the committee report and recorded reservations from two members. DOT testified the $10 level would be needed to fund projects such as shore power.
Measures to streamline transportation environmental reviews (SB 3154 SD2) and to authorize HDOT agreements with federal military installations (SB 3156 SD1) were both passed with technical amendments that the committee adopted.
Several bills addressing motor-vehicle processes and enforcement advanced. SB 2053 SD2, allowing electronic signatures for supporting documents used in title transfers after total-loss insurance settlements, was passed with an effective date set to July 1, 2027 to give counties implementation time. SB 20009 SD2, which would require county directors of finance to notify applicable agencies upon private vehicle transfers, was passed with amendments despite county-level opposition.
On enforcement and penalties, the committee passed SB 2667 SD1 (lane restrictions for vehicles towing trailers) and SB 2010 SD2, which would permit impoundment of vehicles when an operator is cited for driving without a valid license. For SB 2010, the Attorney General offered comments and the Office of the Public Defender registered strong opposition, citing potential disproportionate impacts on low-income residents; the committee asked that subsequent committees work with AG and OPD to refine language.
SB 2146 SD1, creating a traffic fines task force to study tiered fines, was passed with amendments after the chair proposed inserting language to address uncollected fines under Act 59 (Session Laws of 2020); the chair cited more than $50 million in uncollected fines as a motivator for further action.
Votes were taken after the committee reconvened from recess; most measures were recommended to pass with amendments and HD1s were adopted as described. The committee concluded with scheduling remarks and adjourned.
