RES 240 Draft 01 2020-2022 - Laserfiche WebLink

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i I s i Justification for Proposed Bill for an Act Relating to Registration of Vehicles Abandoned and derelict vehicles are a widespread problem in Hawaii, which increasingly impacting our quality of life, environment, public health and safety. The increasing number of abandoned and derelict vehicles the costs related to the removal and disposition of the vehicles are an increasing challenge for the counties. The proposed bill removes the $10 cap on fee for the highway beautification and disposal of abandoned or derelict vehicles revolving fund. Background Due to the volume of abandoned vehicles and the number of complaints, it sometimes takes up to 45 days for the posting, towing and disposal of an abandoned vehicle. The County of Kauai, as an example, in 2017, received 1,119 reported abandoned/derelict vehicles (834 abandoned/365 derelict). In FY 2019, Kauai Police Department had 653 vehicles towed and had more than 270 pending complaints. The costs relating to abandoned/derelict vehicles continue to grow. During 2017, the { department handled the removal of 404 abandoned and derelict vehicles, 498 in 2018. Kauai taxpayers paid more than $411,000 for the handling and disposal of abandoned and derelict vehicles in 2017; $423,000 in 2018; and $419,999 for the period up until September 2019. In 2020, the County of Kauai testified that the Kauai Police Department has a difficult time enforcing the collection of outstanding towing and related costs. The testimony further pointed out that many offenders, who litter the island with vehicles, regularly transfer and register vehicles. County needs authority to levy and collect all charges related to towing, removal, and disposal of abandoned and derelict vehicles, including the authority to deny recurring offenders from transferring and/or registering vehicles unless their outstanding charges have been paid. Because of the greater number of registered vehicles in some of the counties, the $10 cap is sufficient. However, removing the cap considers the varying conditions in different counties; storage space, recycling facilities, administrative services. 3 i i i EXHIBIT A