Report Title:

Motor Vehicles; Use of Intoxicants; Penalties

Description:

Adds an additional $100 penalty to persons convicted of operating a vehicle under the influence of intoxicants. Provides that moneys are to be distributed to the law enforcement agency making the arrest to facilitate enforcement, including in-car videos and radar and laser speed detection.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

952

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO THE USE OF INTOXICANTS WHILE OPERATING A VEHICLE.

 

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

SECTION 1. Section 291E-61, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§291E-61 Operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant. (a) A person commits the offense of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant if the person operates or assumes actual physical control of a vehicle:

(1) While under the influence of alcohol in an amount sufficient to impair the person's normal mental faculties or ability to care for the person and guard against casualty;

(2) While under the influence of any drug that impairs the person's ability to operate the vehicle in a careful and prudent manner;

(3) With .08 or more grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of breath; or

(4) With .08 or more grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters or cubic centimeters of blood.

(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 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 but not more than $1,000; and

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

(2) 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 one year 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 but not more than $1,500; and

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

(3) 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 but not more than $2,500;

(B) Revocation of license and privilege to operate a vehicle for a period not less than one year 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; and

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

(4) For an offense that occurs within ten years of three or more prior convictions for offenses under this section, section 707-702.5, or section 291E-4(a):

(A) Mandatory revocation of license and privilege to operate a vehicle for a period not less than one year but not more than five years;

(B) Not less than ten days imprisonment, of which at least forty-eight hours shall be served consecutively;

(C) Referral to a substance abuse counselor as provided in subsection (d); and

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

An offense under this paragraph is a class C felony.

(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 and paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) shall not exceed thirty days.

(c) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, any:

(1) Conviction under this section or section 291E-4(a); or

(2) Conviction in any other state or federal jurisdiction for an offense that is comparable to operating or being in physical control of a vehicle while having either an unlawful alcohol concentration or an unlawful drug content in the blood or urine or while under the influence of an intoxicant;

shall be considered a prior conviction for the purposes of imposing sentence under this section. No license and privilege suspension or revocation shall be imposed pursuant to this section if the person's license and privilege to operate a vehicle has previously been administratively revoked pursuant to part III for the same act; provided that, if the administrative suspension or revocation is subsequently reversed, the person's license and privilege to operate a vehicle shall be suspended or revoked as provided in this section.

(d) Whenever a court sentences a person pursuant to subsection (b), it also shall require that the offender be referred to the driver's education program for an assessment, by a certified substance abuse counselor, of the offender's substance abuse or dependence and the need for appropriate treatment. The counselor shall submit a report with recommendations to the court. The court shall require the offender to obtain appropriate treatment if the counselor's assessment establishes the offender's substance abuse or dependence. All costs for assessment and treatment shall be borne by the offender.

(e) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, whenever a court revokes a person's driver's license pursuant to this section, the examiner of drivers shall not grant to the person a new driver's license until the expiration of the period of revocation determined by the court. After the period of revocation is completed, the person may apply for and the examiner of drivers may grant to the person a new driver's license.

(f) Any person sentenced under this section may be ordered to reimburse the county for the cost of any blood or urine tests conducted pursuant to section 291E-11. The court shall order the person to make restitution in a lump sum, or in a series of prorated installments, to the police department or other agency incurring the expense of the blood or urine test.

(g) In addition to any other penalties and liabilities, a person who is adjudicated of violating this section shall be fined $100, payable to the clerk of the court, who shall distribute the money to the law enforcement agency that made the arrest. All moneys received by a law enforcement agency under this subsection shall be used to facilitate the enforcement of this section. The enforcement shall include in-car video cameras, radar and laser speed detection devices, alcohol breath testers, and court overtime.

[(g)] (h) The requirement to provide proof of financial responsibility pursuant to section 287-20 shall not be based upon [a]:

(1) A revocation under part XIV of chapter 286 unless the person's license had been previously revoked under that part in the five-year period immediately preceding the revocation at issue; or

(2) A sentence imposed under subsection (b)(1).

[(h)] (i) As used in this section, the term "examiner of drivers" has the same meaning as provided in section 286-2."

SECTION 2. Section 291E-64, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§291E-64 Operating a vehicle after consuming a measurable amount of alcohol; persons under the age of twenty-one. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of twenty-one years to operate any vehicle with a measurable amount of alcohol. A law enforcement officer may arrest a person under this section when the officer has probable cause to believe the arrested person is under the age of twenty-one and had been operating a vehicle upon a public way, street, road, or highway or on or in the waters of the State with a measurable amount of alcohol.

(b) A person who violates this section shall be sentenced as follows:

(1) For a first violation or any violation not preceded within a five-year period by a prior alcohol enforcement contact:

(A) The court shall impose:

(i) A requirement that the person and, if the person is under the age of eighteen, the person's parent or guardian attend an alcohol abuse education and counseling program for not more than ten hours; and

(ii) A one hundred eighty-day prompt suspension of license and privilege to operate a vehicle with absolute prohibition from operating a vehicle during the suspension period, or in the case of a person eighteen years of age or older, the court may impose, in lieu of the one hundred eighty-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 one hundred eighty-day period, a restriction on the license that allows the person to drive for limited work-related purposes and to participate in alcohol abuse education and treatment programs; and

(B) In addition, the court may impose any one or more of the following:

(i) Not more than thirty-six hours of community service work; or

(ii) A fine of not less than $150 but not more than $500.

(2) For a violation that occurs within five years of a prior alcohol enforcement contact:

(A) The court shall impose prompt suspension of license and privilege to operate a vehicle for a period of one year with absolute prohibition from operating a vehicle during the suspension period; and

(B) In addition, the court may impose any of the following:

(i) Not more than fifty hours of community service work; or

(ii) A fine of not less than $300 but not more than $1,000.

(3) For a violation that occurs within five years of two prior alcohol enforcement contacts:

(A) The court shall impose revocation of license and privilege to operate a vehicle for a period of two years; and

(B) In addition, the court may impose any of the following:

(i) Not more than one hundred hours of community service work; or

(ii) A fine of not less than $300 but not more than $1,000.

(c) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, any conviction or plea under this section shall be considered a prior alcohol enforcement contact.

(d) Whenever a court sentences a person pursuant to subsection (b)(2) or (3), it also shall require that the person be referred to the driver's education program for an assessment, by a certified substance abuse counselor, of the person's alcohol abuse or dependence and the need for appropriate treatment. The counselor shall submit a report with recommendations to the court. The court shall require the person to obtain appropriate treatment if the counselor's assessment establishes the person's alcohol abuse or dependence. All costs for assessment and treatment shall be borne by the person or by the person's parent or guardian, if the person is under the age of eighteen.

(e) Notwithstanding section 831-3.2 or any other law to the contrary, a person convicted of a first-time violation under subsection (b)(1), who had no prior alcohol enforcement contacts, may apply to the court for an expungement order upon attaining the age of twenty-one, or thereafter, if the person has fulfilled the terms of the sentence imposed by the court and has had no subsequent alcohol or drug related enforcement contacts.

(f) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, whenever a court revokes a person's driver's license pursuant to this section, the examiner of drivers shall not grant to the person an application for a new driver's license for a period to be determined by the court.

(g) Any person sentenced under this section may be ordered to reimburse the county for the cost of any blood tests conducted pursuant to section 291E-11. The court shall order the person to make restitution in a lump sum, or in a series of prorated installments, to the police department or other agency incurring the expense of the blood test.

(h) In addition to any other penalties and liabilities, a person who is adjudicated of violating this section shall be fined $100, payable to the clerk of the court, who shall distribute the money to the law enforcement agency that made the arrest. All moneys received by a law enforcement agency under this subsection shall be used to facilitate the enforcement of this section. The enforcement shall include in-car video cameras, radar and laser speed detection devices, alcohol breath testers, and court overtime.

[(h)] (i) The requirement to provide proof of financial responsibility pursuant to section 287-20 shall not be based upon a sentence imposed under subsection (b)(1).

[(i)] (j) Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a violation.

[(j)] (k) As used in this section, the terms "driver's license" and "examiner of drivers" have the same meanings as provided in section 286-2."

SECTION 3. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun, before its effective date.

SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2003.

INTRODUCED BY:

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