STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3228

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 1928

       S.D. 1

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred H.B. No. 1928 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TESTING FOR INTOXICANTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to repeal section 291E-68, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which makes refusal to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test a petty misdemeanor.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Maui.  Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by Mothers Against Drunk Driving Hawaii.

     Your Committee finds that the criminalization of the refusal to submit to a chemical test is causing serious problems with the prosecution of individuals arrested for operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant.  Several cases in Maui county have been dismissed because of purported constitutional violations relating to the potential for criminal penalties associated with a defendant's refusal to submit to a chemical test.  In lieu thereof, your Committee finds existing law requiring license revocation in an administrative license revocation proceeding to be an adequate penalty.

     Your Committee recognizes the concerns raised by Mothers Against Drunk Driving Hawaii that repealing the law that makes refusal to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test a petty misdemeanor fails to provide an adequate deterrent or criminal consequence for intoxicated drivers.  In balancing these concerns against the constitutional considerations raised by the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Maui, your Committee urges Mothers Against Drunk Driving Hawaii to develop language that provides sufficient penalties for and deterrents against drunk driving while observing a defendant's constitutional rights.

     Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date from upon approval to July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1928, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1928, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Labor,

____________________________

CLAYTON HEE, Chair