Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation and Government Operations, to which was referred H.B. No. 437 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to clarify that when the mandatory forty-eight hour term of imprisonment for operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant is added to the mandatory term of imprisonment for the first, second, or third offense, the total time of imprisonment may not exceed the maximum terms of imprisonment allowed by the statutory penalty for the offense.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney and the Honolulu Police Department.

Current law specifies a mandatory term of imprisonment of forty-eight hours for persons eighteen years of age or older who are convicted of the offense of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant, if the driver had a passenger who was under fifteen years of age. Current law further specifies a term of imprisonment for conviction of the underlying offense and that the forty-eight hours when added to any imprisonment for the underlying conviction shall not exceed thirty days. According to testimony, the trial court judges have had difficulty interpreting the ambiguous language of the statute when imposing sentences. This measure clarifies the ambiguous language by amending the cross-references.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation and Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 437, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.