Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official page posted by the Hawaii State Legislature, fetched 2026-08-29. Where this bill amends existing law, language marked for deletion in the official page appears here in brackets. This is the first conference draft. The official bill page.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B. NO. 1696 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D. 2 STATE OF HAWAII S.D. 1 C.D. 1 A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSES. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII: SECTION 1. Section 286-102.3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows: "[[]§286-102.3[]] Commercial drivers under the age of twenty-one. A person [is qualified to] may drive commercially in the State in intrastate commerce if the person: (1) Is at least [nineteen] eighteen years of age; (2) Is in compliance with title 49 Code of Federal Regulations[, part 390-396, subpart B,] parts 390 through 396, except section 391.11(b)(1) in the case of an intrastate driver involved in intrastate commerce in the State; [(3) Only operates a category 3 vehicle as defined in section 286-102(b)(3); (4)] (3) [Shall] Does not transport hazardous materials [as defined in section 286-2], nor passengers in a school vehicle as defined in section 286-181; [and] [(5)] (4) Has had a category 3 state driver's license for the two years immediately preceding driving commercially under this section, with the following conditions: (A) Has not had any license suspended, revoked, or canceled; and (B) Has not had any conviction for: (i) Speeding excessively involving any speed of fifteen miles per hour or more above the speed limit; (ii) Driving recklessly, as defined by state or local law or regulation, including but not limited to offenses of driving a motor vehicle in wilful or wanton disregard for the safety of person or property; (iii) Making improper or erratic traffic lane changes; (iv) Following the vehicle ahead too closely; or (v) Violating state or local law relating to motor vehicle traffic control, excluding parking violations, arising in connection with a fatal accident[.]; and (5) Is under twenty-one years of age and actively enrolled in: (A) A registered apprenticeship program as determined by the department of labor and industrial relations; provided that a driver under twenty‑one years of age shall not operate a commercial motor vehicle outside the scope, supervision, or duration of the approved training or apprenticeship program; or (B) A structured, on-the-job training program administered by the person's employer; provided that: (i) The employer is primarily engaged in a trade, business, or industry that requires the operation of commercial motor vehicles as an incidental and necessary function of its operations, and not for the primary purpose of providing commercial driver training to the general public; (ii) The training is provided solely to individuals who are bona fide employees of the employer and is directly related to the employee's job duties; (iii) The employer does not offer, market, or provide commercial driver training services to the general public for a fee; (iv) The training includes a minimum of three hundred twenty hours of supervised, behind-the-wheel and related instruction; (v) The employer maintains written training standards, safety protocols, and records of training hours and supervision; and (vi) The driver shall not operate a commercial motor vehicle outside the scope, supervision, or duration of the employer's training program. For the purposes of this paragraph, "registered apprenticeship program" means a program approved or recognized by, or registered with, the department of labor and industrial relations, including programs registered pursuant to chapter 372 or other workforce development programs authorized by the department of labor and industrial relations." SECTION 2. Section 286-236, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows: "§286-236 Commercial driver's license qualification standards. (a) No person shall be issued a commercial driver's license unless that person: (1) Meets the qualification standards of title 49 Code of Federal Regulations[,] part 391, subparts B and E; provided that for issuance of a commercial driver's license to an applicant who is eighteen years of age or older but under twenty-one years of age, compliance with title 49 Code of Federal Regulations section 391.11(b)(1), minimum age, shall not be required if the license is restricted to intrastate operation pursuant to subsection (i); (2) Has passed a knowledge and driving skills test for driving a commercial motor vehicle that complies with minimum federal standards established by federal regulation enumerated in title 49 Code of Federal Regulations[,] part 383, subparts G and H; (3) Has Hawaii as the state of domicile as defined in title 49 Code of Federal Regulations section 383.5; and (4) Has satisfied all other requirements of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986, Public Law 99-570, title XII, in addition to other requirements imposed by state law or federal regulation. The tests shall be prescribed by the director and administered by the respective county examiner of drivers. The test examiners shall communicate with the applicant only in English during the skills test. As of January 30, 2012, the examiner of drivers shall verify that the medical certification status of a driver who self-certified according to title 49 Code of Federal Regulations section 383.71(b)(1)(i), non-excepted interstate, is certified. If a driver submits a current medical examiner's certificate, the examiner of drivers shall date-stamp the certificate and post all required information to the commercial driver's license information system pursuant to title 49 Code of Federal Regulations section 383.73(b)(5) and in accordance with title 49 Code of Federal Regulations section 383.73(o). A person who is not physically qualified to drive under title 49 Code of Federal Regulations section 391.41(b)(1) or (2) and who is otherwise qualified to drive a motor vehicle may be granted an intrastate waiver by the director. The process for granting intrastate waivers shall be the same as that for interstate waivers in title 49 Code of Federal Regulations section 391.49; provided that the intrastate waiver requests shall be submitted to the director. (b) The examiner of drivers may waive the driving skills test specified in this section for a commercial driver's license applicant who meets the requirements of title 49 Code of Federal Regulations section 383.77 or 383.123(b). (c) A commercial driver's license or commercial learner's permit, including a provisional or temporary license or permit, shall not be issued to a person while the person is subject to a disqualification from driving a commercial motor vehicle, or while the person's driver's license is suspended, revoked, or canceled in any state; or while the person holds a driver's license issued by any other state unless the person first surrenders that license. (d) A commercial learner's permit may be issued to an individual who holds a valid driver's license, is at least eighteen years of age, meets the qualification standards of title 49 Code of Federal Regulations[,] part 391, subparts B and E, and has passed the written tests required for the desired class of a commercial driver's license. (e) The commercial learner's permit shall not be valid for a period in excess of one hundred eighty days from the date that the applicant passes the general and all required endorsement knowledge tests; provided that, if the applicant is not required to take a knowledge test, the period shall start when the permit is issued. When driving a commercial motor vehicle, the holder of a commercial learner's permit shall be accompanied by a person with a valid commercial driver's license to operate that category of commercial motor vehicle with the proper endorsements. The licensed person shall occupy the seat beside the individual for the purpose of giving instruction in driving the commercial motor vehicle. The commercial learner's permit may be renewed no more than an additional one hundred eighty days without requiring the commercial learner's permit holder to retake the general or endorsement knowledge tests, and the applicant requalifies meeting the requirements of subsection (d). The commercial learner's permit holder [is] shall be eligible to take the commercial driver's license skills test no earlier than fourteen days after obtaining the permit. (f) The examiner of drivers may waive the knowledge and skills tests specified in this section for any person who is at least twenty-one years of age and who possesses a valid commercial driver's license issued by any state of the United States, Mexico, or a province of Canada that issues licenses in accordance with the minimum federal standards for the issuance of commercial driver's licenses. The examiner of drivers shall accept the test scores of a Hawaii commercial learner's permit holder who completes training in another state in the United States and is tested in compliance with federal motor carrier safety regulations by that state in association with the training. The testing state shall electronically transmit in a secure manner the skills test results directly to the examiner of drivers, and if the applicant passed, and meets all other requirements, a Hawaii commercial driver's license shall be issued. To retain a hazardous materials endorsement, the applicant shall pass the knowledge test for a hazardous materials endorsement and be determined by the federal Transportation Security Administration not to pose a security risk warranting denial of the endorsement. (g) Every applicant shall successfully complete the commercial driver's license general knowledge test before being issued a commercial learner's permit. A driver holding a valid commercial driver's license who seeks an upgrade for which a skills test is required shall also pass the appropriate knowledge test before obtaining a commercial learner's permit. Beginning February 7, 2022, except for a driver holding a valid commercial driver's license or commercial learner's permit that was obtained before February 7, 2022, every applicant shall complete the entry-level driver training requirements as specified in title 49 Code of Federal Regulations part 380, subpart F, and be verified with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Training Provider Registry before taking the skills test for a class A or class B commercial driver's license, passenger endorsement, or school bus endorsement, and before taking the knowledge test for a hazardous materials endorsement. (h) Beginning November 18, 2024, the examiner of drivers shall not issue, renew, transfer, or upgrade a commercial driver's license; renew the hazardous materials endorsement; or issue, renew, or upgrade a commercial learner's permit; if the results of a query to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse is that the driver is prohibited from operating a commercial motor vehicle. (i) Notwithstanding subsection (a)(1) and title 49 Code of Federal Regulations section 391.11(b)(1), the examiner of drivers may issue a commercial driver's license to a person who is eighteen years of age or older but under twenty-one years of age if: (1) The license bears the "K" restriction indicating operation is limited to intrastate commerce, as described in section 286-239(b)(3); (2) The applicant meets all other state and federal requirements applicable to the license class and endorsements sought, including medical certification (49 C.F.R. part 391), entry-level driver training (49 C.F.R. part 380), knowledge and skills testing (49 C.F.R. part 383), and controlled substances and alcohol use and testing (49 C.F.R. part 382); and (3) The applicant demonstrates enrollment in or completion of a training program authorized under section 286-102.3(5) that may include: (A) A registered apprenticeship program approved or recognized by the department of labor and industrial relations; or (B) A structured, on-the-job training program administered by the applicant's employer that meets the requirements of section 286-102.3(5)(B), including a minimum of three hundred twenty hours of supervised, behind-the-wheel instruction; provided that employer-administered training shall not be required as a condition of licensure where the applicant qualifies through a registered apprenticeship program." SECTION 3. The department of transportation shall adopt or amend rules pursuant to chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, necessary to lower the minimum age required for an intrastate commercial driver's license to eighteen, consistent with this Act. SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored. SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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