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. 502, H.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to impose enhanced penalties for repeat offenders for the traffic violations of child passenger restraint systems, motor vehicle alarm systems, and motor vehicle lights equipment.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Judiciary and the Department of Transportation (DOT).

This measure arises at the behest of the Judiciary with regard to the problems of keeping records of convictions indefinitely in order to ascertain the date of a previous offense for sentencing purposes for a subsequent offense. Judges also experience problems in sentencing a subsequent offense that is supposed to be enhanced if there is a prior offense when a statute is silent on the time limit for that prior offense. Your Committee believes that record keeping should be subordinated to the interests of the administration of justice. Your Committee further believes that judges should interpret the statute as written rather than speculating on legislative intent.

Your Committee has amended this measure on the recommendation of the DOT by deleting the reference to a three-year time period for a second offense for the child restraint system law and deleting the reference to a one year subsequent offense period for the motor vehicle lights law.

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. 502, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 502, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.