SB944

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that there is a need to reduce the incidence of drivers on highways and roads of this State who, because of their use, consumption, or possession of intoxicating liquor, pose a danger to the health and safety of the people of Hawaii.

One method of dealing with the problem of drinking drivers is to discourage the use of motor vehicles by persons who have consumed alcoholic beverages. The installation of an ignition interlock system that measures breath alcohol will provide a means of deterring the use of motor vehicles by these persons. Ignition interlock systems are designed to supplement other methods of punishment that prevent drivers who have been convicted of driving under the influence of an intoxicant from using a motor vehicle after using, possessing, or consuming alcohol. It is economically and technically feasible to have an ignition interlock system installed in a motor vehicle in such a manner that the vehicle will not start if the operator has recently consumed alcohol.

The legislature finds indications that sentencing an impaired driver to prison alone does little more than remove the offender from the roads for a period of time. To lower the incidence of repeat offenses, it is important that the cause of the offense be treated. Therefore, this Act provides the court with a sentencing option that combines connection of the ignition interlock system with community service and imprisonment while preserving the current sentencing structure to allow the court greater flexibility.

The purpose of this Act is to authorize the court to require a person convicted of driving under the influence of an intoxicant to attach an ignition interlock system to the person's motor vehicle to prevent impaired driving, in addition to other sanctions.

SECTION 2. The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"CHAPTER

IGNITION INTERLOCK SYSTEMS

§ -1 Definitions. As used in this chapter:

"Director" means the director of transportation.

"Examiner of drivers" means the person or persons appointed under section 286-101.

"Ignition interlock system" or "system" means a constant monitoring system certified by the director which prevents a motor vehicle from being started at any time without first determining the equivalent blood alcohol level of the operator by testing a deep-lung breath sample.

§ -2 Proof of compliance; failure to comply. (a) When the court sentences an offender to the use of an ignition interlock system pursuant to section 291E-61, the court shall require the offender to provide proof of installation to the director within ten working days.

(b) If the offender fails to provide proof of installation within that period, absent a finding of good cause by the court, the court shall revoke or terminate the offender's driving privileges for the remaining period during which the use of the system was required.

(c) In the event that the system cannot be installed due to the unavailability of the system, the manufacturer or installer shall report this to the court and the court may extend the time for installation of the system for an additional thirty days.

(d) For the purposes of this section, good cause for failure to comply shall mean any reason the court deems sufficiently justifiable to excuse the offender's failure to comply with its order.

(e) The court shall also require an imprint or attachment of a notation on the driver's license of any person restricted under this chapter indicating that the person may operate only a motor vehicle equipped with an ignition interlock system.

§ -3 Monitoring. Any person required to install an ignition interlock system shall have the system monitored by the manufacturer of the system for proper use and accuracy at least quarterly or more frequently, as the court may order. A report of that monitoring shall be issued by the manufacturer to the court within fourteen days following each monitoring.

§ -4 Costs. (a) If an ignition interlock system is ordered installed pursuant to this chapter, the offender shall pay the reasonable costs of leasing or buying and installing the system.

(b) An offender who is unable to pay for the costs of the system shall file an affidavit of indigency or inability to pay with the court within ten days of the order, and the court shall cause an investigation to be made to confirm the indigency or establishes that the payment of such cost would cause a grave and serious hardship to the individual or to the family of the individual. The court may enter a written finding of indigency that waives the entire amount of the cost, or may direct the offender to make partial or installment payments of costs when appropriate.

Subject to appropriation, the State shall reimburse the installer of an ignition interlock system provided to an offender for whom payment of costs has been waived on the grounds of indigency.

(c) Each person ordered to install an ignition interlock system shall pay a fee, in addition to any other system fees authorized, of not more than $100 to the court. Fees shall be deposited into the general fund, subject to appropriation for the costs of providing ignition interlock systems to individuals deemed indigent.

No fee shall be collected from an offender who is determined to be indigent pursuant to subsection (b), provided that in lieu of waiver of the entire amount of the fee, the court may direct the offender to make partial or installment payments of the fee when appropriate. Failure to pay the fees required under this section, unless excused, shall constitute a violation of this chapter.

§ -5 Employer-owned vehicles. (a) If an offender ordered to install an ignition interlock system is required, in the course and scope of the person's employment, to operate a motor vehicle owned by the person's employer, the person may operate that vehicle without installation of an ignition interlock system provided that the employer has been notified that the employee's driving privileges are restricted as provided in section 291E-61 and the employee has proof of the notification in the employee's possession while operating the employer's vehicle.

(b) To the extent that an employer-owned vehicle is made available for personal use to a person subject to this chapter, no exemption under this section shall apply. A person intending to operate an employer-owned motor vehicle for personal use and who is required to operate only a motor vehicle equipped with a certified ignition interlock system shall bear the burden of notifying the employer in accordance with this section and obtaining consent in writing from the employer to install such a system in the employer-owned vehicle.

(c) Upon conviction for violation of any provision of this section, the court shall notify the examiner of drivers who shall immediately revoke the person's license to operate a vehicle for the remainder of the period of suspension or revocation during which the ignition interlock system requirement was imposed.

§ -6 Tampering; use of other than personal motor vehicle. (a) A person shall not circumvent or tamper with the operation of an ignition interlock system.

(b) No person shall knowingly rent, lease, or lend a motor vehicle to a person known to have had the person's driving privilege restricted as provided in this chapter, unless the vehicle is equipped with a functioning, certified ignition interlock system. An offender whose driving privilege is restricted shall notify any other person who rents, leases, or lends a motor vehicle to the restricted person of the driving restriction imposed under this chapter.

§ -7 Circumvention. (a) No person shall solicit another to blow into an ignition interlock system to start the motor vehicle so as to circumvent the system.

(b) No person shall unlawfully blow into an ignition interlock system or start a motor vehicle equipped with an ignition interlock system for the purpose of providing an operable motor vehicle to another person who is required to have such a system.

(c) This section shall not apply if the starting of a motor vehicle, or the request to start a motor vehicle, equipped with an ignition interlock system is done for the purpose of safety or mechanical repair of the system or the vehicle, provided that the person subject to the court order does not operate the vehicle.

§ -8 Certification. (a) The director shall certify or cause to be certified ignition interlock systems for use in the State and shall adopt rules under chapter 91 for the certification of the systems. The standards shall require at least that the system:

(1) Shall not impede the safe operation of the vehicle;

(2) Shall have features that make circumvention difficult and that do not interfere with the normal use of the vehicle;

(3) Shall correlate well with established measures of alcohol impairment;

(4) Shall work accurately and reliably in an unsupervised environment;

(5) Shall resist tampering and give evidence if tampering is attempted;

(6) Requires a deep-lung breath sample as a measure of blood alcohol concentration equivalence; or

(7) Is manufactured by a party who will provide liability insurance.

(b) A list of certified systems shall be published by the director.

(c) The cost of the certification program shall be borne by the manufacturers of ignition interlock systems seeking to sell or offer for sale or lease those systems in the State.

The director may establish, pursuant to chapter 91, fees to cover the costs incurred in the process of certifying each ignition interlock system.

(d) The director, prior to certification and thereafter as deemed necessary, shall evaluate ignition interlock systems for compliance with the requirements of this section. The manufacturer of any system sought to be certified shall provide the director with the following:

(1) The ignition interlock system;

(2) All related accessories;

(3) Detailed set of instructions pertaining to the operation and maintenance of the system; and

(4) Any other material needed for the evaluation, including technical consultation.

§ -9 Misuse of system. No person shall advertise for sale, offer for sale, or sell or lease an ignition interlock system in the State unless the system has been certified by the director and the manufacturer of the system has affixed a warning label on the system approved by the director, stating that the tampering, circumventing, or other misuse of the system may be a misdemeanor subject to a fine or imprisonment or both, as established in section -10.

§ -10 Penalty. Any person convicted of a violation of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor."

SECTION 3. Section 291E-61, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) A person committing the offense of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant shall be sentenced as follows without possibility of probation or suspension of sentence:

(1) For the first offense, or any offense not preceded within a five‑year period by a conviction for an offense under this section or section 291E‑4(a):

(A) A fourteen‑hour minimum substance abuse rehabilitation program, including education and counseling, or other comparable program deemed appropriate by the court;

(B) Ninety‑day prompt suspension of license and privilege to operate a vehicle during the suspension period, or the court may impose, in lieu of the ninety‑day prompt suspension of license, a minimum thirty‑day prompt suspension of license with absolute prohibition from operating a vehicle and, for the remainder of the ninety‑day period, a restriction on the license that allows the person to drive for limited work‑related purposes and to participate in substance abuse treatment programs;

(i) Seventy‑two hours of community service work;

(ii) Not less than forty‑eight hours and not more than five days of imprisonment; [or]

(iii) A fine of not less than $150 but not more than $1,000; [~~and~~] or

(iv) Connection of an ignition interlock system to the offender's vehicle for one year pursuant to chapter following the period of suspension imposed pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(B); and

(D) A surcharge of $25 to be deposited into the neurotrauma special fund;

(2) For an offense committed by a highly intoxicated driver, prompt suspension of license and privilege to operate a vehicle for a period of six months with an absolute prohibition from operating a vehicle during the suspension period;

(3) For an offense that occurs within five years of a prior conviction for an offense under this section or section 291E‑4(a) by:

(A) Prompt suspension of license and privilege to operate a vehicle for a period of one year with an absolute prohibition from operating a vehicle during the suspension period;

(B) [~~Either~~] Any one or more of the following:

(i) Not less than two hundred forty hours of community service work; [or]

(ii) Not less than five days but not more than fourteen days of imprisonment of which at least forty‑eight hours shall be served consecutively; or

(iii) Connection of an ignition interlock system to the offender's vehicle for one year pursuant to chapter following the period of suspension imposed pursuant to subsection (b)(3)(A);

(D) A surcharge of $25 to be deposited into the neurotrauma special fund;

(4) For an offense that occurs within five years of two prior convictions for offenses under this section or section 291E‑4(a) by:

(A) A fine of not less than $500 but not more than $2,500;

(B) Revocation of license and privilege to operate a vehicle for a period not less than one year but not more than five years;

(C) Connection of an interlock system to the offender's vehicle for one year pursuant to chapter following the period of revocation imposed pursuant to subsection (b)(3)(B);

[~~(C)~~] (D) Not less than ten days but not more than thirty days imprisonment of which at least forty‑eight hours shall be served consecutively;

[~~(D)~~] (E) A surcharge of $25 to be deposited into the neurotrauma special fund; and

[~~(E)~~] (F) Forfeiture under chapter 712A of the vehicle owned and operated by the person committing the offense; provided that the department of transportation shall provide storage for vehicles forfeited under this subsection; and

(5) Any person eighteen years of age or older who is convicted under this section and who operated a vehicle with a passenger, in or on the vehicle, who was younger than fifteen years of age, shall be sentenced to an additional mandatory fine of $500 and an additional mandatory term of imprisonment of forty‑eight hours; provided that the total term of imprisonment for a person convicted under this paragraph shall not exceed the maximum term of imprisonment provided in paragraph (1), [[](3)[]], or [[](4)[]]."

SECTION 4. The motor vehicle safety office of the department of transportation shall monitor the use of ignition interlock systems and twenty days prior to the convening of each year's regular session, shall report to the legislature on the implementation, use, and effectiveness of ignition interlock systems.

SECTION 5. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007-2008, and $ , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008-2009, to carry out the purposes of this Act.

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of transportation for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 6. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun, before its effective date.

SECTION 7. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 8. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2007.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	944
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII