STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1716

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 54

H.D. 2

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 54, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Increase penalties for a third or subsequent offense within five years of excessive speeding to a misdemeanor;

(2) Increase penalties for a second offense within five years of excessive speeding;

(3) Authorize the court, as part of the person's sentencing for the third or subsequent offense, to order that the vehicle used by the person in the commission of the offense be subject to forfeiture; and

(4) Require individuals convicted of excessive speeding to be subject to identification processing procedures.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation, Hawaiʻi Police Department, Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization, and one individual.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General.

Your Committee finds that speeding contributes to a substantial number of traffic fatalities by impairing reaction time, increasing stopping distances, and heightening the risk of severe accidents. Your Committee further finds that speeding accounted for twenty-nine percent of motor vehicle deaths in the United States in 2021. This measure will prevent tragedies, protect local communities, and serve as a deterrent to dangerous driving by imposing tougher penalties on repeat offenders of excessive speeding.

Your Committee notes that the State's courts, law enforcement agencies, and other entities within the criminal justice system routinely use and rely upon information collected by the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center to provide complete and accurate criminal history record information. However, existing law only requires and authorizes the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center to collect this information in cases initiated by arrest or penal summons. Often, the offense of excessive speeding starts via a citation, where the offender would not be subject to any arrest proceedings. Your Committee further notes that this measure, as written, does not adequately address this citation issue to ensure that convictions become a part of the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center's data. Your Committee therefore believes that amendments to this measure are necessary to ensure that the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center is able to collect necessary data and that individuals will also not be subjected to unnecessary statutorily mandated identification processing a second time for the same offense if they were already processed when arrested.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by clarifying that a person who is convicted of excessive speeding shall be ordered by the court to report to the appropriate police department, sheriff's office, or other governmental agency for identification processing if that person has not previously undergone identification processing for the offense.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 54, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 54, H.D. 2, S.D. 2.

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

________________________________

KARL RHOADS, Chair