SB587

Report Title:

DUI; MV; Forfeiture

Description:

Requires the confiscation of the motor vehicle after a second DUI offense. Requires payment of fee if vehicle is borrowed or rented.

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	587
TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF INTOXICATING LIQUOR.

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

SECTION 1. Section 291-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) A person committing the offense of driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor 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 driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor under this section or section 291-4.4 by:

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

(B) Ninety-day prompt suspension of license with absolute prohibition from operating a motor vehicle during suspension of license, 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 motor 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 alcoholism treatment programs; and

(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.

(2) For an offense that occurs within five years of a prior conviction for driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor under this section or section 291-4.4 by:

(A) Prompt suspension of license for a period of one year with the absolute prohibition from operating a motor vehicle during suspension of license;

(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; and

(D) If the vehicle is owned wholly or in part by the defendant or by an immediate family member of the defendant living at the same address at the time of the incident, forfeiture of the vehicle that was being operated by the defendant or over which the defendant has assumed actual physical control of operation at the time of the offense. If the vehicle is not so owned, a forfeiture substitution fee of $1,000 shall be imposed in lieu of confiscation.

(3) For an offense that occurs within five years of two prior convictions for driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor under this section or section 291-4.4 by:

(A) A fine of not less than $500 but not more than $2,500;

(B) Revocation of license for a period not less than one year but not more than five years; and

(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

(4) Any person eighteen years of age or older, who is convicted under this section and who operated or assumed actual physical control of 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, however, that the total term of imprisonment for a person convicted under this section shall not exceed thirty days.

(5) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, any conviction for driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor under this section or section 291-4.4 shall be considered a prior conviction for purposes of imposing sentence under this section.

(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary and in addition to any other penalties imposed under this section, if a person, in connection with an offense for which the person is convicted under this section, damages the motor vehicle the person was driving to an extent that the cost to repair the vehicle exceeds its reasonable value, the person shall be ordered to pay a $1,000 fee in lieu of any forfeiture requirement under this section.

(7) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, if the court makes specific written findings that:

(A) The defendant or the defendant's immediate family members living at the same address will suffer severe financial hardship that will impair their ability to afford one or more of the necessities of life as a result of the forfeiture; and

(B) That a member of the vehicle owner's immediate family, other than the defendant, residing at the same address as the owner, is validly licensed;

the court may impose a fee of not more than $1,000 in lieu of forfeiting the vehicle and in addition to any other fine or fee imposed under this section.

(8) No license suspension or revocation shall be imposed pursuant to this subsection if the person's license has previously been administratively revoked pursuant to part XIV of chapter 286 for the same offense; provided that, if the administrative revocation is subsequently reversed, the person's license shall be suspended or revoked as provided in this subsection."

SECTION 2. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun, before its effective date.

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________