Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs and Transportation, Military Affairs, and Government Operations, to which was referred H.B. No. 2251 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the motoring public, in regard to repeat drunk driving offenders, by providing that all convictions for driving with a license restriction shall count in determining repeat offenders.

Specifically, this bill clarifies that:

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Department of Transportation, City and County of Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, Honolulu Police Department, and Mothers Against Drunk Driving Hawaii.

Your Committees find that currently there is an unintended ambiguity in section 291E-62(a). Section 291E-62(a) sets forth the offense of operating a vehicle after license suspension or revocation for operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant. However, it is not a violation for a person to operate a vehicle when that person previously violated this section. It was an offense for a person to operate a vehicle when that person previously violated section 291-4.5, the predecessor to section 291E-62. Your Committees believe that a person with a violation under section 291E-62 should not be able to operate a vehicle, and this measure amends section 291E-62 to resolve this ambiguity.

Your Committees further find that currently only repeat offenses under section 291E-62 are considered prior offenses for sentencing. However, because section 291E-62 was only enacted in 2002, there are very few people that actually have a prior offense under this section at this time. The previous version of section 291E-62 was section 291-4.5, and all of the convictions prior to 2002 were offenses under this section. As a result, your Committees believe that offenses under section 291-4.5, which was replaced by section 291E-62, should also be considered a repeat offense to section 291E-62.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs and Transportation, Military Affairs, and Government Operations that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2251, and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.