STAND. COM. REP. NO. 305

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 1212
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Transportation and Intergovernmental
Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 1212 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO USE OF INTOXICANTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to consolidate and make uniform,
where appropriate, the statutory provisions relating to operating
a vehicle while using an intoxicant.

     More specifically, the bill creates a new chapter within the
Hawaii Revised Statutes that:

     (1)  In effect, reenacts many existing provisions in part
          VII and XIV of chapter 286 and in chapter 291;

     (2)  Consolidates the implied consent provisions for driving
          with a measurable amount of alcohol (zero tolerance),
          driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor,
          driving under the influence of drugs, and impaired
          boating offenses;

     (3)  Makes driving with a measurable amount of alcohol (zero
          tolerance), driving under the influence of drugs, and
          impaired boating offenses subject to the administrative
          revocation of driver's license provisions, instead of

 
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          providing for suspension of license or privilege to
          operate a vehicle pursuant to a district court hearing;
          and

     (4)  Makes the penalties for driving under the influence of
          drugs and impaired boating offenses consistent with
          those for driving under the influence of intoxicating
          liquor by consolidating these provisions into the
          offense of operating a vehicle while under the
          influence of an intoxicant.

     Your Committee finds that this bill is the result of efforts
by the Governor's Highway Safety Council Impaired Driving Task
Force and the Department of Transportation, in response to House
Concurrent Resolution No. 26, S.D. 1, entitled "Requesting the
Department of Transportation to Review Hawaii's Impaired Driving
Statutes and to Make Recommendations for Uniform Statutory
Construction".  The Legislature passed the Resolution during the
Regular Session of 1998 out of concern over inconsistent
statutory provisions and disparate penalties for similar
offenses.

     Your Committee firmly believes that it is entirely
appropriate to provide for uniform and consistent statutory
provisions with respect to operating a vehicle while using
intoxicants.  Your Committee further finds that the present
inconsistent provisions relating to zero tolerance, impaired
driving, and impaired boating have occurred largely as a result
of patchwork legislation over time that amended some statutory
provisions relating to impaired driving, but failed to make
mirror amendments to other, similar offenses.  Accordingly, your
Committee believes that consolidating similar provisions and
creating a separate chapter within the Hawaii Revised Statutes to
deal solely with these issues will help to ensure that future
legislative actions will maintain the consistency and uniformity
established within this bill.

     Your Committee has amended the bill by:

     (1)  Adding a new section    -2 to part I that reenacts the
          language presently in section 291-6, Hawaii Revised
          Statutes, relating to medical services by government
          physicians;

     (2)  Redesignating section    -83, relating to evidence of
          intoxication (on pages 61-63), as section    -3 and

 
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          adding it to part I (general provisions), because it
          relates to both part III and part IV;

     (3)  Adding a new section    -4 to part I that clarifies
          that:

          (A)  Any offense under sections 200-81, 291-4, or
               291-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, as these sections
               were in effect prior to the bill's effective date,
               or any conviction in any other state or federal
               jurisdiction for any offense similar to these
               offenses or to operating a vehicle while under the
               influence of an intoxicant shall count as a prior
               offense; and

          (B)  Any violation of section 291-4.5, as that section
               was in effect prior to the bill's effective date,
               shall be counted as a prior violation;

     (4)  Making similar amendments, with respect to convictions
          in any other state or federal jurisdiction for any
          similar offense, to the definitions of "alcohol
          enforcement contact" and "drug enforcement contact" in
          section    -1 and to section    -81(c) relating to
          prior offenses;

     (5)  Renumbering section    -80 as section    -83, as it was
          numbered incorrectly according to Hawaii Revised
          Statutes numbering conventions;

     (6)  Amending section    -82(a), at page 60, line 4, to add
          a reference to revocations or suspensions under part
          VII of chapter 286 and to indicate that reference to
          all provisions listed on lines 4-5 are to these
          sections as they were in effect prior to the bill's
          effective date;

     (7)  Adding corresponding amendments to sections 287-20(b)
          and 663-1.9(c), Hawaii Revised Statutes;

     (8)  Adding three new sections repealing sections 291-4.5,
          291-5, and 291-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes,
          respectively, as these sections are being reenacted in
          the new chapter being created in the bill;


 
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     (9)  Adding a new section to the bill requiring the Revisor
          of Statutes to prepare proposed conforming legislation
          to make necessary amendments to statutes that will be
          affected by the repeal of present statutory provisions,
          as provided in the bill;

    (10)  Deleting the provision applying the bill retroactively
          and, instead, making the bill applicable to any act
          occurring after the bill's effective date and making
          conforming changes to the purpose section;

    (11)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2000, to provide
          additional time for the Judiciary and law enforcement
          agencies to develop new procedures and forms to ensure
          compliance with the bill;

    (12)  Renumbering all sections consecutively; and

    (13)  Making a number of technical, nonsubstantive changes
          for purposes of style, clarity, and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Transportation and Intergovernmental Affairs that is
attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the
intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1212, as amended herein, and
recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached
hereto as S.B. No. 1212, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee
on Judiciary.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Transportation
                                   and Intergovernmental Affairs,



                                   ______________________________
                                   CAL KAWAMOTO, Chair

 
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