Provides amnesty from prosecution or license suspension or revocation for minor traffic offenses when those offenses are pending at a time when the offender is sentenced to prison. Provides that the Judicial Council shall conduct a review of the backlog of arrest warrants. (HB3016 HD1)

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that in the Oahu district court system there are over one hundred thousand outstanding bench warrants. It is unknown how many outstanding warrants there are on the neighbor islands. These numbers continue to increase because when a person is sentenced to prison, especially for a felony, and misses an appearance in district court for a traffic case, a bench warrant is automatically issued and the case remains unresolved. Many outstanding traffic warrants also go unserved because the person is sentenced to a term of prison in an unrelated case and the underlying traffic case is never addressed.

The legislature also finds that the present practice regarding service of traffic bench warrants causes numerous problems. First, outstanding warrants clog up the court system for years. This is partly due to the fact that incarcerated persons are unable to get into district court to clear up minor traffic violations. The warrants are not served upon them in prison because the backlog is so extensive that law enforcement resources devoted to service of warrants are focused on arresting persons charged with serious offenses who are at large in the community. Second, inmates are denied parole or drug treatment because they have not resolved outstanding court matters. Third, inmates, once released from prison, must immediately turn themselves back in on traffic warrants that have remained pending for three, five, ten, or even twenty years.

The legislature further finds that the State of California has instituted a traffic court amnesty program that provides for nonprosecution of nonfelony traffic offenses that were pending against a person at the time of the person's incarceration. Driving under the influence of intoxicants and reckless driving are specifically excluded from the amnesty provision. Enacting a similar law in Hawaii would reduce the bench warrant backlog and free up law enforcement to serve warrants for serious offenses on a timely basis.

The purpose of this Act is to establish an amnesty program for traffic offenses committed by a person who has been sentenced to prison for a felony.

SECTION 2. Chapter 803, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§803- Arrest warrants arising from traffic violations; amnesty. (a) No person shall be subject to prosecution for any nonfelony offense, including contempt of court, arising out of the operation of a motor vehicle, or violation of chapter 291C as a pedestrian, where the arrest warrant issued pursuant to the prosecution is not served upon the person continuously incarcerated within the state in a state correctional facility between June 1, 2006, and June 1, 2007.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, no driver’s license shall be suspended or revoked nor shall the issuance or renewal of a license be refused as a result of a pending nonfelony offense occurring prior to the time a person was incarcerated for a felony offense committed in this state.

(c) The director of finance in each county shall remove from the director's records any notice received by the director that the person is the subject of a pending prosecution for an offense referred to in subsection (a) upon receipt of satisfactory evidence that a person was incarcerated for a felony offense committed in this state after the offense which gave rise to the notice occurred.

(d) This section shall not apply:

SECTION 3. The judicial council, established pursuant to section 601-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, through a review committee, shall conduct a review of the backlog of arrest warrants waiting to be served upon persons incarcerated in the state's correctional facilities and recommend to the legislature action necessary so that these warrants will be served without further delay. The participants of the review committee shall consist of representatives from:

(1) The Judiciary;

(2) The department of the attorney general;

(3) The department of public safety;

(5) The police department for each of the counties.

The review shall be beyond mere fiscal problems and shall investigate actions to be taken by the participants to alleviate, even if only temporarily, the problem.

The study shall be concluded and a final report submitted to the legislature, together with any proposed implementing legislation, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session 2007.

PART III

SECTION 4. The judicial council, established pursuant to section 601-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, through a review committee, shall conduct a comprehensive review of the entire backlog of unserved arrest warrants and recommend to the legislature action necessary so that these warrants will be served without further delay. The participants of the review committee shall consist of representatives from:

(1) The Judiciary;

(2) The department of the attorney general;

(3) The department of public safety;

(5) The police department for each of the counties; and

(6) The office of the public defender.

The review shall be beyond mere fiscal problems and shall investigate actions to be taken by the participants to permanently alleviate the problem.

The study shall be concluded and a final report submitted to the legislature, together with any proposed implementing legislation, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2007.

SECTION 5. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval; provided that Part I of this Act shall take effect on June 1, 2006, and be repealed on June 1, 2007.