HB2410

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 addressed. Therefore, this Act preserves the current sentencing structure while providing the court with the flexibility to combine community service and imprisonment with connection of an ignition interlock system.

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 during the year after the person's license has been suspended or revoked for driving under the influence.

SECTION 2. Chapter 291E, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new part to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"PART . IGNITION INTERLOCK SYSTEMS

§291E-A 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 without first determining the blood alcohol level of the operator by testing a deep-lung breath sample.

"Offender" means a person sentenced to the use of an ignition interlock system.

§291E-B Proof of compliance; failure to comply. (a) When the court sentences a person to the use of an ignition interlock system under section 291E-61, the court shall require the offender to provide proof to the director that the system was installed in the offender's motor vehicle on or prior to the day on which use of the system is to begin. Proof shall be provided within ten working days of the day on which use of the system is to begin.

(b) If the offender fails to provide proof of installation, absent a finding of good cause by the court, the court shall revoke 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. The court may extend the time for installation of the system and shall impose an equivalent extension in the period during which connection of the interlock system is required.

(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 the offender indicating that the offender may operate only a motor vehicle equipped with an ignition interlock system.

§291E-C Monitoring. An offender shall have any ignition interlock system installed, monitored by the manufacturer of the system for proper use and accuracy at least quarterly, or more frequently as determined by the director. A report of that monitoring shall be issued by the manufacturer to the court within fourteen days following each monitoring.

§291E-D Costs. (a) An offender shall pay the costs of leasing or buying and installing an ignition interlock system.

(b) An offender who is unable to pay the costs of the system shall file an affidavit of indigency or inability to pay the court within ten days of the order, and the court shall cause an investigation to be made to confirm the indigency or establish that payment would cause a grave and serious hardship to the offender or to the offender's family. 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 a system provided to an offender for whom payment of costs has been waived on the grounds of indigency.

(c) Each offender shall pay a fee, in addition to any other system fees authorized, of not more than $100 to the court 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; 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. Fees shall be deposited into the general fund. Failure to pay the fees required under this section, unless excused, shall constitute a violation of this chapter.

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

(b) An offender shall not operate an employer-owned motor vehicle for personal use unless the motor vehicle is equipped with a functioning certified, ignition interlock system.

(c) Upon conviction of an offender 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 motor vehicle for the remainder of the period during which the ignition interlock system requirement was imposed.

§291E-F Tampering; circumvention. (a) No person shall circumvent or tamper with the operation of an ignition interlock system.

§291E-G Use of other than personal motor vehicle. (a) No person shall knowingly rent, lease, or lend a motor vehicle to an offender, unless the vehicle is equipped with a functioning, certified ignition interlock system. An offender shall notify any other person who rents, leases, or lends a motor vehicle to the offender that the offender may not operate a motor vehicle unless it is equipped with a functioning, certified ignition interlock system.

(b) No person shall:

(1) Solicit another to blow into an ignition interlock system to circumvent the lawful purpose of the system and start the motor vehicle for an offender; or

(2) Blow into an ignition interlock system to circumvent the lawful purpose of the system by starting a motor vehicle equipped with the system to provide an operable motor vehicle to an offender.

(c) The prohibitions under subsection (b) 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 maintaining the safety of or repairing the system or the vehicle; provided that the offender does not operate the vehicle.

§291E-H 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 certification of the systems. The rules shall ensure 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; and

(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 manufacturers of ignition interlock systems seeking to sell or offer for sale or lease their 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) A 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.

§291E-I 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 is a misdemeanor subject to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or imprisonment of up to one year, or both.

§291E-J Penalty. Any person who violates any provision 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) Except as provided in [[]paragraph[]] (2), 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 a first offense committed by a highly intoxicated driver, or for any offense committed by a highly intoxicated driver 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) Prompt suspension of a 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;

(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)(2)(B); and

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

(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):

(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)(4)(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~~]

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 submit a 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 2008-2009.

The sum 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. In codifying the new part added to chapter 291E, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by section 2 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.

SECTION 8. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 9. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2008.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2410
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII