Aloha and Happy New Year! The old cliché “time flies when you’re having fun” surely applies to me. I've very much appreciated the opportunity to serve as your State Senator for the past year and look forward to working with you in the years ahead. Here are a few things I'd like to share with you.

Community Input on Legislation 2008

Through my "listen-story" meetings and conversations with constituents I've received a lot of great ideas for bills that could benefit our community. Here are a couple of transportation-related proposals to give you examples of what kind of things we can work on together to change and improve.

Prohibiting Texting While Driving

At one of my community meetings in Kapolei this summer, a Makakilo resident told me that he was noticing more and more people sending text messages while driving. I did a little research and found out that this is becoming an increasing problem on our roads.

For example, a 2007 survey by Harris Interactive found that two-thirds of adult drivers have read text messages while driving and 57 percent of adults have admitted to sending text messages while driving. Added to this, the National Highway Safety Administration has found that 65 percent of near-crashes on our roads are due to driver inattention. So at the urging of my constituent, I've drafted a bill to prohibit drivers from sending and reading text messages or emails while driving.

Allowing Hybrid Vehicles to Use HOV Lanes

A hybrid vehicle owner from Royal Kunia contacted me a few months ago and said that he would like to see the state offer hybrid vehicle owners incentives for purchasing their cars. As an environmentalist, I support increasing hybrid vehicle ownership in Hawaii. You might not be aware that R. L. Polk and Company, a worldwide automotive research organization, has found that hybrid vehicles produce 90 percent less smog pollution than conventional engine vehicles and use significantly less fuel. With this in mind, I've written a bill that will allow hybrid vehicles to use HOV lanes, regardless of how many passengers are in the car.

"Listen-Story"

I'll be co-hosting my next "listen-story" meeting with Representative Sharon Har at the Royal Kunia Community Association Board Room (above Times Supermarket) on Saturday, January 12, 2008 at 9am.

Please contact me if I can help you in any way. My phone number is 586-6830 and email is sengabbard@capitol.hawaii.gov.