Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2645 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to allow a police officer to determine what type of test shall be administered (blood or urine), when the officer suspects a driver of being under the influence of drugs. This measure also makes amendments to the implied consent provisions to clarify that for the purposes of determining alcohol content, the applicable tests are blood and breath.

Your Committee finds that this measure will enable our police officers to be more effective by giving them the necessary authority to investigate impaired drivers and reduce drug/alcohol related fatalities and accidents.

Your Committee further finds that this measure is necessary because in certain instances, an arrestee may not choose the test they prefer until after the three hour time limit has passed. In addition, certain types of tests are more effective to discover the presence of certain intoxicants in a person's system. For example, your Committee finds that a urine test is not very effective to determine whether a driver has been drinking.

Therefore, your Committee supports this measure to give our officers the authority to determine, based on their experience and suspicion, which test is necessary to determine if a driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2645 and recommends that it pass Third Reading.