Report Title:

DUI; Penalties

 

Description:

Establishes offense of driving after consumption of alcohol.  Amends administrative license revocation procedures, periods of revocation, and conditional permit conditions.  Requires 50% of DUI fines to be paid to counties for traffic enforcement and 50% to judiciary for administrative revocation proceedings.  Requires annual report to the legislature of fines distributed.

 


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1812

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT


 

 

relating to USE OF INTOXICANTS WHILE OPERATING A VEHICLE.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  Chapter 291E, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding two new sections to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§291E-    Operating a vehicle after consuming a measurable amount of alcohol; persons over the age of twenty-one.  (a)  It shall be unlawful for any person over the age of twenty-one years to operate any vehicle with a measurable amount of alcohol.

     (b)  A person who violates this section shall be subject to a maximum fine of $2,000.

     §291E-     Disposition of fines paid.  (a)  The judiciary shall identify to the state director of finance, by county, those fines paid for conviction of an offense under part IV.  The state director of finance shall transmit to each county, not more than thirty days after the end of each fiscal quarter, fifty per cent of the fines paid for conviction of an offense under part IV committed in that county that are in excess of amounts required by the State to pay the administrative costs of the traffic violations bureau.  Amounts received by the counties shall be used solely for police enforcement of traffic laws.  The balance shall be transmitted to the judiciary to fund proceedings conducted by the judiciary pursuant to part III.

(b)  This section shall not apply to any sums paid that are required by law to be paid into a special, revolving, or trust fund.

(c)  Not later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session, the state director of finance shall provide to the legislature a report of the amounts transmitted under subsection (a)."

     SECTION 2.  Section 291E-38, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

     1.  By amending subsection (d) to read:

     "(d)  The director shall conduct the hearing and have authority to:

     (1)  Administer oaths and affirmations;

     (2)  Examine witnesses and take testimony;

     (3)  Receive and determine the relevance of evidence;

     (4)  Issue subpoenas;

     (5)  Regulate the course and conduct of the hearing;

     (6)  Impose [up to the maximum] license revocation [period] periods as specified under section 291E‑41(b); and

     (7)  Make a final ruling."

     2.  By amending subsection (k) to read:

     "(k)  For good cause shown, the director may grant a continuance either of the commencement of the hearing or of a hearing that has already commenced.  If a continuance is granted at the request of the director, the director shall extend the validity of the temporary permit, and temporary motor vehicle registration and temporary number plates if applicable, unless otherwise prohibited, for a period not to exceed the period of five working days after the continuance.  If a continuance is granted at the request of the respondent, the director shall not extend the validity of the temporary permit, or temporary motor vehicle registration and temporary number plates, if applicable.  For purposes of this section, a continuance means a delay in the commencement of the hearing or an interruption of a hearing that has commenced, other than for recesses during the day or at the end of the day or week.  The absence from the hearing of a law enforcement officer or other person, upon whom personal service of a subpoena has been made as set forth in subsection (h), constitutes good cause for a continuance."

     SECTION 3.  Section 291E-41, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

     "(b)  The periods of administrative revocation with respect to a license and privilege to operate a vehicle, and motor vehicle registration if applicable, that shall be imposed under this part are as follows:

     (1)  [A minimum of three] Three months [up to a maximum of one year] revocation of license and privilege to operate a vehicle, if the respondent's record shows no prior alcohol enforcement contact or drug enforcement contact during the five years preceding the date the notice of administrative revocation was issued;

     (2)  For a respondent who is a highly intoxicated driver, a mandatory six-month revocation of license and privilege to operate a vehicle and of the registration of any motor vehicle registered to the highly intoxicated driver; provided that the highly intoxicated driver shall not qualify for a conditional license permit under section 291E‑44;

     (3)  [A minimum of one] One year [up to a maximum of two years] revocation of license and privilege to operate a vehicle and of the registration of any motor vehicle registered to the respondent, if the respondent's record shows one prior alcohol enforcement contact or drug enforcement contact during the five years preceding the date the notice of administrative revocation was issued;

     (4)  [A minimum of two] Two years [up to a maximum of four years] revocation of license and privilege to operate a vehicle and of the registration of any motor vehicle registered to the respondent, if the respondent's record shows two prior alcohol enforcement contacts or drug enforcement contacts during the seven years preceding the date the notice of administrative revocation was issued;

     (5)  Lifetime revocation of license and privilege to operate a vehicle and of the registration of any motor vehicle registered to the respondent and a lifetime prohibition on any subsequent registration of motor vehicles by the respondent, if the respondent's record shows three or more prior alcohol enforcement contacts or drug enforcement contacts during the ten years preceding the date the notice of administrative revocation was issued; or

     (6)  For respondents under the age of eighteen years who were arrested for a violation of section 291E‑61 or 291E‑61.5, revocation of license and privilege to operate a vehicle either for the period remaining until the respondent's eighteenth birthday or, if applicable, for the appropriate revocation period provided in paragraphs (1) to (5) or in subsection (d), whichever is longer and such respondents shall not qualify for a conditional permit;

provided that when more than one administrative revocation, suspension, or conviction arises out of the same arrest, it shall be counted as only one prior alcohol enforcement contact or drug enforcement contact, whichever revocation, suspension, or conviction occurs later."

     SECTION 4.  Section 291E-44, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

     "(a) (1)  During the administrative hearing, the director, at the request of a respondent who is subject to administrative revocation for a period as provided in section 291E‑41(b)(1), may issue a conditional license permit that will allow the respondent, after a minimum period of absolute license revocation of thirty days, to drive for the remainder of the revocation period; provided that one or more of the following conditions are met:

          (A)  The respondent is gainfully employed in a position that requires driving and will be discharged if the respondent's driving privileges are administratively revoked; or

          (B)  The respondent has no access to alternative transportation and therefore must drive to work, school, vocational training, or to a substance abuse treatment facility or counselor for treatment ordered by the director under section 291E-41; [or]

          (C)  The respondent must drive for personal medical or dental care or treatment; or

          (D)  The respondent needs to drive to assist in the care of another person who is unable to drive due to the other person's age, disability, or medical condition; or

     (2)  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the director shall not issue a conditional license permit to:

         (A)  A respondent whose license, during the conditional license permit period, is expired, suspended, or revoked as a result of action other than the instant revocation for which the respondent is requesting a conditional license permit under this section;

         (B)  A respondent who has refused breath, blood, or urine tests for purposes of determining alcohol concentration or drug content of the person's breath, blood, or urine, as applicable;

         (C)  A respondent who is a highly intoxicated driver; and

         (D)  A respondent who holds either a category 4 license under section 286-102(b) or a commercial driver's license under section 286-239(b) [unless the], except that a respondent who holds a commercial driver's license under section 286‑239(b) shall be permitted to obtain a category 3 conditional license permit [is restricted to a category 1, 2, or 3 license under section 286‑102(b).], provided that the respondent qualifies for a permit under paragraph (a)(1)(B), (C), or (D)."

     SECTION 5.  Section 291E-61, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

     "(b)  A person committing the offense of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant shall be sentenced as follows without possibility of probation or suspension of sentence:

     (1)  For the first offense, or any offense not preceded within a five‑year period by a conviction for an offense under this section or section 291E‑4(a):

         (A)  A fourteen‑hour minimum substance abuse rehabilitation program, including education and counseling, or other comparable program deemed appropriate by the court;

         (B)  [Ninety‑day] A minimum of ninety‑day up to a maximum of one year prompt suspension of license and privilege to operate a vehicle during the suspension period, or the court may impose[, in lieu of the ninety‑day prompt suspension of license,] a minimum thirty‑day prompt suspension of license with absolute prohibition from operating a vehicle and, for the remainder of the [ninety‑day] period, a restriction on the license that allows the person to drive for limited work‑related purposes and to participate in substance abuse treatment programs;

         (C)  Any one or more of the following:

              (i)  Seventy‑two hours of community service work;

             (ii)  Not less than forty‑eight hours and not more than five days of imprisonment; or

            (iii)  A fine of not less than [$150] $500 but not more than $1,000; and

         (D)  A surcharge of $25 to be deposited into the neurotrauma special fund;

     (2)  For an offense committed by a highly intoxicated driver, prompt suspension of license and privilege to operate a vehicle for a period of six months with an absolute prohibition from operating a vehicle during the suspension period;

     (3)  For an offense that occurs within five years of a prior conviction for an offense under this section or section 291E‑4(a) by:

         (A)  Prompt suspension of license and privilege to operate a vehicle for a period of at least one year and a maximum of two years with an absolute prohibition from operating a vehicle during the suspension period;

         (B)  Either one of the following:

              (i)  Not less than two hundred forty hours of community service work; or

             (ii)  Not less than five days but not more than fourteen days of imprisonment of which at least forty‑eight hours shall be served consecutively;

         (C)  A fine of not less than [$500] $750 but not more than $1,500; and

         (D)  A surcharge of $25 to be deposited into the neurotrauma special fund;

     (4)  For an offense that occurs within five years of two prior convictions for offenses under this section or section 291E‑4(a):

         (A)  A fine of not less than [$500] $1,000 but not more than $2,500;

         (B)  Revocation of license and privilege to operate a vehicle for a period not less than [one year] two years but not more than five years;

         (C)  Not less than ten days but not more than thirty days imprisonment of which at least forty‑eight hours shall be served consecutively;

         (D)  A surcharge of $25 to be deposited into the neurotrauma special fund; and

         (E)  Forfeiture under chapter 712A of the vehicle owned and operated by the person committing the offense; provided that the department of transportation shall provide storage for vehicles forfeited under this subsection; and

     (5)  Any person eighteen years of age or older who is convicted under this section and who operated a vehicle with a passenger, in or on the vehicle, who was younger than fifteen years of age, shall be sentenced to an additional mandatory fine of $500 and an additional mandatory term of imprisonment of forty‑eight hours; provided that the total term of imprisonment for a person convicted under this paragraph shall not exceed the maximum term of imprisonment provided in paragraph (1), [[](3)[]], or [[](4)[]]."

     SECTION 6.  This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun, before its effective date.

     SECTION 7.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 8.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2007.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

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