REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT TO ESTABLISH, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU, FAIR POLICIES AND PROCESSES FOR TOWING AND DISPOSING OF VEHICLES THAT BELONG TO ACTIVE DUTY SERVICEMEMBERS AND THAT ARE ABANDONED ON STATE OR CITY PROPERTY.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Stanley Chang and 2 co-sponsors

Requests the state and Honolulu to create fair, SCRA-compliant towing and disposal policies for active duty servicemembers’ abandoned vehicles, with clear notice.

Referred to PSM/EIG.

#abandonedvehicles #cityandcountyofhonolulu #servicemembers #towing

Quick overview

Bill type: Concurrent resolution

Bill number/title: SCR 235 — Requesting the Department of Law Enforcement to establish, in collaboration with the City and County of Honolulu, fair policies and processes for towing and disposing of vehicles that belong to active duty servicemembers and that are abandoned on state or city property

Introduced: March 7, 2025

Status: Referred to PSM/EIG (Public Safety & Military Affairs / Economic Impact? committees)

Sponsors: Gabbard, Chang, Fevella

Related: SR 211 (companion)

Purpose and intent

SCR 235 expresses concern about active duty servicemembers who leave their vehicles parked on state or city property while deployed, which can create safety and parking issues for others. It seeks to ensure that towing and disposal procedures for these vehicles:
- Protect servicemembers’ rights under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)
- Balance the rights and needs of other residents and property owners

To achieve this, the resolution requests the Department of Law Enforcement (DLE), in collaboration with the City and County of Honolulu, to establish fair policies and processes for towing and disposing of these vehicles.

Key provisions and requirements

Policy development: DLE is to establish, with Honolulu, fair policies and processes for towing and disposals of vehicles owned by active duty servicemembers that are abandoned on state or city property.

Notice provisions: The new policies should provide adequate notice to a deployed servicemember if their vehicle has been towed.

Compliance with SCRA: All policies/processes must comply with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

Intergovernmental coordination: The effort is a collaboration between the state (DLE) and the City and County of Honolulu.

Certified copies: The concurrent resolution requires that certified copies be transmitted to the Director of Law Enforcement, the Mayor of Honolulu, and the Chair of the Honolulu City Council.

Who is affected

Active duty servicemembers: Potential protections, clearer notice, and more predictable outcomes when their vehicles are towed.

State and City/County property owners: Updated, standardized towing/disposal processes to align with servicemember protections.

Towing agencies/administrative bodies: Will operate under new, codified policies developed through intergovernmental collaboration.

Public agencies (DLE and Honolulu government): Responsible for implementing and coordinating the policy initiative.

Procedural and timeline aspects

The bill is in the early legislative stage as of 2025, having been referred to committees PSM/EIG on March 12, 2025.

As a concurrent resolution, it expresses the Legislature’s position and requests action; it does not itself create binding statutory requirements, but it may influence agency rulemaking and interagency practice.

No specific implementation timeline is provided within the resolution text.

Impact considerations

Potential improvement in the handling of servicemembers’ abandoned vehicles, with clearer notice and adherence to SCRA protections.

Could reduce confusion or disputes between vehicle owners, residents, and property owners.

Administrative workload increase for DLE and Honolulu to develop and implement the new policies.

Bill