Hawaii 2022 Regular Session

Hawaii Senate Bill SCR234 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	THE SENATE S.C.R. NO. 234 THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022 STATE OF HAWAII SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE COUNTIES TO DEVELOP AN OPTION THAT ALLOWS STATE RESIDENTS TO REMIT THEIR MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION TAXES AND FEES ON A PRO-RATED BIANNUAL BASIS and consider a process that establishes a moratorium on motor vehicle registration taxes and fees.
2	2
3	3	THE SENATE S.C.R. NO. 234
4	4	THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
5	5	STATE OF HAWAII
6	6
7	7	THE SENATE
8	8
9	9	S.C.R. NO.
10	10
11	11	234
12	12
13	13	THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
14	14
15	15
16	16
17	17	STATE OF HAWAII
18	18
19	19
20	20
21	21
22	22
23	23
24	24
25	25
26	26
27	27
28	28
29	29	SENATE CONCURRENT
30	30
31	31	RESOLUTION
32	32
33	33
34	34
35	35
36	36
37	37	REQUESTING THE COUNTIES TO DEVELOP AN OPTION THAT ALLOWS STATE RESIDENTS TO REMIT THEIR MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION TAXES AND FEES ON A PRO-RATED BIANNUAL BASIS and consider a process that establishes a moratorium on motor vehicle registration taxes and fees.
38	38
39	39
40	40
41	41
42	42
43	43
44	44
45	45	WHEREAS, the high costs of housing, food, health care, transportation, and other goods and services in the State are felt by Hawaii residents statewide, but particularly by low-income individuals; and WHEREAS, household spending on transportation represents a primary expense for households in the State and the rest of the nation; and WHEREAS, according to the United States Department of Transportation, households spent an average of $9,826 on transportation in 2020, the second largest household expenditure category after housing when spending on behalf of households, such as health care benefits, is excluded; and WHEREAS, all motor vehicles in the State, including motor vehicle ownership transfers, are subject to registration taxes and fees; and WHEREAS, low-income individuals may not be able to pay the taxes and fees associated with motor vehicle registration in lump sum or may experience financial hardship in doing so; and WHEREAS, motor vehicles are necessary for travel to and from work and to carry out other daily activities even if the owner of the motor vehicle is unable to afford the motor vehicle registration taxes and fees; and WHEREAS, if an individual is unable to pay for the taxes and fees associated with motor vehicle registration and incurs a penalty for late registration of the motor vehicle, the cycle of financial hardship on the individual continues and the fiscal responsibilities increase as delinquent fees and other costs continue to mount; and WHEREAS, while a statewide moratorium was established during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic on evictions for nonpayment of rent, no moratorium was established for nonpayment of motor vehicle registration taxes and fees; and WHEREAS, a possible solution to alleviate the financial hardships experienced by low-income individuals and other qualified individuals is to allow these individuals to pay their motor vehicle registration taxes and fees on a pro-rated biannual basis; and WHEREAS, establishing a moratorium on payments of motor vehicle registration taxes and fees, similar to the moratorium on rent and mortgage payments that existed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the State, would also enable individuals to recover financially as the pandemic improves; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, the House of Representatives concurring, that the counties are urged to develop an option that allows state residents to remit their motor vehicle registration taxes and fees on a pro-rated biannual basis; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the counties are also urged to consider a process that establishes a moratorium on motor vehicle registration taxes and fees; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Mayors and Council Chairpersons of the City and County of Honolulu and the counties of Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui; Director of the Department of Customer Services of the City and County of Honolulu; Administrator of the Vehicle Registration and Licensing Division of the County of Hawaii; Administrator of the Driver License Division and Motor Vehicle Division of the County of Kauai; and Administrator of the Motor Vehicle and Licensing Division of the County of Maui. OFFERED BY: _____________________________ Report Title: Motor Vehicle Registration Taxes and Fees; Counties; Pro-rated Biannual Payment
46	46
47	47	WHEREAS, the high costs of housing, food, health care, transportation, and other goods and services in the State are felt by Hawaii residents statewide, but particularly by low-income individuals; and
48	48
49	49
50	50
51	51	WHEREAS, household spending on transportation represents a primary expense for households in the State and the rest of the nation; and
52	52
53	53
54	54
55	55	WHEREAS, according to the United States Department of Transportation, households spent an average of $9,826 on transportation in 2020, the second largest household expenditure category after housing when spending on behalf of households, such as health care benefits, is excluded; and
56	56
57	57
58	58
59	59	WHEREAS, all motor vehicles in the State, including motor vehicle ownership transfers, are subject to registration taxes and fees; and
60	60
61	61
62	62
63	63	WHEREAS, low-income individuals may not be able to pay the taxes and fees associated with motor vehicle registration in lump sum or may experience financial hardship in doing so; and
64	64
65	65
66	66
67	67	WHEREAS, motor vehicles are necessary for travel to and from work and to carry out other daily activities even if the owner of the motor vehicle is unable to afford the motor vehicle registration taxes and fees; and
68	68
69	69
70	70
71	71	WHEREAS, if an individual is unable to pay for the taxes and fees associated with motor vehicle registration and incurs a penalty for late registration of the motor vehicle, the cycle of financial hardship on the individual continues and the fiscal responsibilities increase as delinquent fees and other costs continue to mount; and
72	72
73	73
74	74
75	75	WHEREAS, while a statewide moratorium was established during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic on evictions for nonpayment of rent, no moratorium was established for nonpayment of motor vehicle registration taxes and fees; and
76	76
77	77
78	78
79	79	WHEREAS, a possible solution to alleviate the financial hardships experienced by low-income individuals and other qualified individuals is to allow these individuals to pay their motor vehicle registration taxes and fees on a pro-rated biannual basis; and
80	80
81	81
82	82
83	83	WHEREAS, establishing a moratorium on payments of motor vehicle registration taxes and fees, similar to the moratorium on rent and mortgage payments that existed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the State, would also enable individuals to recover financially as the pandemic improves; now, therefore,
84	84
85	85
86	86
87	87	BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, the House of Representatives concurring, that the counties are urged to develop an option that allows state residents to remit their motor vehicle registration taxes and fees on a pro-rated biannual basis; and
88	88
89	89
90	90
91	91	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the counties are also urged to consider a process that establishes a moratorium on motor vehicle registration taxes and fees; and
92	92
93	93
94	94
95	95	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Mayors and Council Chairpersons of the City and County of Honolulu and the counties of Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui; Director of the Department of Customer Services of the City and County of Honolulu; Administrator of the Vehicle Registration and Licensing Division of the County of Hawaii; Administrator of the Driver License Division and Motor Vehicle Division of the County of Kauai; and Administrator of the Motor Vehicle and Licensing Division of the County of Maui.
96	96
97	97
98	98
99	99
100	100
101	101
102	102
103	103	OFFERED BY: _____________________________
104	104
105	105
106	106
107	107	OFFERED BY:
108	108
109	109	_____________________________
110	110
111	111
112	112
113	113
114	114
115	115	Report Title:
116	116
117	117	Motor Vehicle Registration Taxes and Fees; Counties; Pro-rated Biannual Payment