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 S.B. No. 706 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the suspension of driver's licenses of persons under age twenty-one for violating the law prohibiting consumption, possession, or use of alcohol by minors.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, State Attorney General, Department of Education, Department of Health (DOH), Department of Human Services, Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney, Honolulu Police Department, a State Representative, a Kauai County Council member, Hawaii Food Industry Association, Mothers Against Drunk Driving Hawaii, University of Hawaii Parent Association, Sassy Magazine, and one individual. Testimony in opposition was received from the Public Defender.

This measure is part of the Hawaii Drug Control Plan, the framework for the State to move forward with a coordinated and comprehensive approach to address illicit drug use and underage drinking. Alcohol is the number one drug of choice for teens in Hawaii and is commonly recognized as a gateway drug. The continued use of alcohol often leads to illicit drug use. It has been reported that underage drinking cost the State $182 million in 2001.

Excessive amounts of alcohol can impair judgment, provoke risky and violent behavior, and slow down reaction time. An intoxicated person behind the wheel of a car is a lethal weapon on the road. Furthermore, according to the DOH, researchers have associated drinking with early sexual intercourse and, as a result, unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. When alcohol is consumed in combination with other drugs, the results can be even more devastating.

Underage drinking is an extremely prevalent problem. It has been estimated that a higher percentage of youths between ages twelve and twenty use alcohol (twenty-nine percent) than use tobacco (23.3 percent) or illicit drugs (14.9 percent). National statistics show that in 2002, about two million minors age twelve to twenty drank five or more drinks on an occasion, five or more times a month. Alcohol consumption is responsible for death and injury in motor vehicle accidents, as well as homicides, suicides, sexual assaults, and unintentional injuries.

A driver's license is the prized possession of teenagers. Knowledge that a conviction for underage possession of alcohol will result in temporary loss of driving privileges is likely to deter many potential underage drinkers from possessing alcohol until they are legally entitled to do so. This measure can save lives by deterring underage drinking and drunk driving.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

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 S.B. No. 706, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 706, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.