Bill Text: HI SB2735 | 2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relating To Driver Licensing.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-04-25 - Received notice of change in conferees (Hse. Com. No. 814). [SB2735 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2024-SB2735-Amended.html
|
THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
2735 |
|
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024 |
S.D. 1 |
|
|
STATE OF HAWAII |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO DRIVER LICENSING.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to:
(1) Require that examinations of applicants for driver's licenses include new sections with questions on the dangers that larger motor vehicles, including trucks and SUVs, pose to pedestrians and bicyclists; and
(2) Require that penalties for excessive speeding or driving while intoxicated require offenders to retake and pass written and road tests for their driver's license for each offense.
SECTION 2. Section 286-108, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:
1. By amending subsection (a) to read:
"(a) Except as provided in section 286-107.5(a), the examiner of drivers shall examine every applicant for a driver's license, except as otherwise provided in this part. The examination shall include a test of:
(1) The applicant's eyesight and any further physical examination that the examiner of drivers finds necessary to determine the applicant's fitness to operate a motor vehicle safely upon the highways;
(2) The applicant's ability to understand highway signs regulating, warning, and directing traffic;
(3) The applicant's knowledge of the rules
of the road based on the traffic laws of the State and the traffic ordinances
of the county where the applicant resides or intends to operate a motor
vehicle; provided that the examination shall
specifically test the applicant's knowledge of the provisions of section 291C-121.5
and section 291C-137; [and]
(4) The applicant's knowledge of the dangers that large vehicles, including trucks, pose to pedestrians and bicyclists; and
[(4)] (5)
The actual demonstration of ability to exercise ordinary and
reasonable control in the operation of a motor vehicle.
The examinations shall be appropriate to the operation of the category of motor vehicle for which the applicant seeks to be licensed and shall be conducted as required by the director.
The examiner of drivers shall require every applicant to comply with section 286-102.5.
The examiner of drivers may waive the actual demonstration of ability to operate a motorcycle or motor scooter for any person who furnishes evidence, to the satisfaction of the examiner of drivers, that the person has completed the motorcycle education course approved by the director in accordance with section 431:10G-104.
For the purposes of this section, the term "applicant" does not include any person reactivating a license under section 286‑107.5(a)."
2. By amending subsection (c) to read:
"(c) The examiner of drivers may waive the written
or oral examination required under subsection (a)(2), [and](3),
and 4 and the actual demonstration of ability to operate a motor vehicle
for any person who:
(1) Is at least eighteen years of age and who possesses a valid driver's license issued to the applicant in any other state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, a province of the Dominion of Canada, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for the operation of vehicles in categories 1 through 3 of section 286-102;
(2) Has completed the same requirements as set forth in section 286-102.6(f) in another state and possesses a valid provisional license from that state; or
(3) Is at least eighteen years of age and who possesses a valid driver's license issued to the applicant in any jurisdiction for which the director has granted reciprocal licensing privileges in accordance with section 286-101.5 for the operation of vehicles in category (3) of section 286-102(b)."
SECTION 3. Section 291C-105, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§291C-105 Excessive speeding. (a) No person shall drive a motor vehicle at a speed exceeding:
(1) The applicable state or county speed limit by thirty miles per hour or more; or
(2) Eighty miles per hour or more irrespective of the applicable state or county speed limit.
(b) For the purposes of this section, "the applicable state or county speed limit" means:
(1) The maximum speed limit established by county ordinance;
(2) The maximum speed limit established by official signs placed by the director of transportation on highways under the director's jurisdiction; or
(3) The maximum speed limit established pursuant to section 291C-104 by the director of transportation or the counties for school zones and construction areas in their respective jurisdictions.
(c)
Any person who violates this section shall be required to retake and
pass a driver's license examination as provided in section 286-108.
[(c)] (d) Any person who violates this section shall be
guilty of a petty misdemeanor and shall be sentenced as follows without the
possibility of probation or suspension of sentence:
(1) For a first offense not preceded by a prior conviction for an offense under this section in the preceding five years:
(A) A fine of not less than $500 and not more than $1,000;
(B) Thirty-day prompt suspension of license and privilege to operate a vehicle during the suspension period, or the court may impose, in lieu of the thirty-day prompt suspension of license, a minimum fifteen-day prompt suspension of license with absolute prohibition from operating a vehicle and, for the remainder of the thirty-day period, a restriction on the license that allows the person to drive for limited work-related purposes;
(C) Attendance in a course of instruction in driver retraining;
(D) A surcharge of $25 to be deposited into the neurotrauma special fund;
(E) May be charged a surcharge of up to $100 to be
deposited into the trauma system special fund if the court so orders;
(F) An assessment for driver education pursuant to section 286G-3; and
(G) Either one of the following:
(i) Thirty-six hours of community service work; or
(ii) Not less than forty-eight hours and not more than five days of imprisonment;
(2) For an offense that occurs within five years of a prior conviction for an offense under this section, by:
(A) A fine of not less than $750 and not more than $1,000;
(B) Prompt suspension of license and privilege to operate a vehicle for a period of thirty days with an absolute prohibition from operating a vehicle during the suspension period;
(C) Attendance in a course of instruction in driver retraining;
(D) A surcharge of $25 to be deposited into the neurotrauma special fund;
(E) May be charged a surcharge of up to $100 to be
deposited into the trauma system special fund if the court so orders;
(F) An assessment for driver education pursuant to section 286G-3; and
(G) Either one of the following:
(i) Not less than one hundred twenty 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; and
(3) For an offense that occurs within five years of two prior convictions for offenses under this section, by:
(A) A fine of $1,000;
(B) Revocation of license and privilege to operate a vehicle for a period of not less than ninety days but not more than one year;
(C) Attendance in a course of instruction in driver retraining;
(D) No fewer than ten days but no more than thirty days of imprisonment of which at least forty-eight hours shall be served consecutively;
(E) A surcharge of $25 to be deposited into the neurotrauma special fund;
(F) May be charged a surcharge of up to $100 to be
deposited into the trauma system special fund if the court so orders; and
(G) An assessment for driver education pursuant to section 286G-3."
SECTION 4. Section 291E-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
"(a) There is established in the state treasury a drug and alcohol toxicology testing laboratory special fund, into which shall be deposited:
(1) All
fines collected pursuant to sections 291E-61(b)(2)(E), [291E-61.5(c)(2)(C),]
291E-61.5(d)(2)(C), and 291E-62(c);
(2) Moneys appropriated by the legislature to the fund;
(3) Other grants and gifts made to the fund; and
(4) Any income and interest earned on the balance of the fund."
SECTION 5. Section 291E-61.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§291E-61.5 Habitually operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant. (a) A person commits the offense of habitually operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant if:
(1) The person is a habitual operator of a vehicle
while under the influence of an intoxicant; and
(2) The person operates or assumes actual physical
control of a vehicle:
(A) While under the influence of alcohol in an amount sufficient to impair the person's normal mental faculties or ability to care for the person and guard against casualty;
(B) While under the influence of any drug that impairs the person's ability to operate the vehicle in a careful and prudent manner;
(C) With .08 or more grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of breath; or
(D) With .08 or more grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters or cubic centimeters of blood.
(b) Habitually operating a vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant is a class C felony.
(c)
Any person convicted of violating this section shall be required to retake
and pass a driver's license examination as provided in section 286-108.
[(c)] (d) For a conviction under this section, the
sentence shall be either:
(1) An
indeterminate term of imprisonment of five years; or
(2) A
term of probation of five years, with conditions to include:
(A) Mandatory revocation of license to operate a vehicle for a period no less than three years but no more than five years, with mandatory installation of an ignition interlock device in all vehicles operated by the respondent during the revocation period;
(B) No less than ten days imprisonment, of which at least forty-eight hours shall be served consecutively;
(C) A fine of no less than $2,000 but no more than $5,000, to be deposited into the drug and alcohol toxicology testing laboratory special fund;
(D) Referral to a certified substance abuse
counselor as provided in subsection [(e);] (f);
(E) A surcharge of $25 to be deposited into the neurotrauma special fund; and
(F) A surcharge of up to $50 to be deposited into the trauma system special fund if the court so orders.
In addition to the foregoing, any vehicle owned and operated by the person committing the offense shall be subject to forfeiture pursuant to chapter 712A.
[(d)]
(e) For any person who is
convicted under this section and was a highly intoxicated driver at the time of
the subject incident, the offense shall be a class B felony and the person
shall be sentenced to the following:
(1) An
indeterminate term of imprisonment of ten years; or
(2) A term of probation of five years, with conditions to include the following:
(A) Permanent revocation of license to operate a vehicle;
(B) No less than eighteen months imprisonment;
(C) A fine of no less than $5,000 but no more than $25,000; and
(D) Referral to a certified substance abuse
counselor as provided in subsection [(e).] (f).
In addition to the foregoing, any vehicle owned and operated by the person who committed the offense shall be subject to forfeiture pursuant to chapter 712A.
[(e)] (f) Whenever a court sentences a person under
this section, it shall also require that the offender be referred to the driver's
education program for an assessment, by a certified substance abuse counselor,
of the offender's substance abuse or dependence and the need for appropriate
treatment. The counselor shall submit a
report with recommendations to the court.
The court shall require the offender to obtain appropriate treatment if
the counselor's assessment establishes the offender's substance abuse or dependence. All costs for assessment and treatment shall
be borne by the offender.
[(f)] (g) Notwithstanding any other law to the
contrary, whenever a court revokes a person's driver's license pursuant to this
section, the examiner of drivers shall not grant to the person a new driver's
license until expiration of the period of revocation determined by the
court. After the period of revocation is
complete, the person may apply for and the examiner of drivers may grant to the
person a new driver's license.
[(g)] (h) Any person sentenced under this section may
be ordered to reimburse the county for the cost of any blood or urine tests
conducted pursuant to section 291E-11.
The court shall order the person to make restitution in a lump sum, or
in a series of prorated installments, to the police department or other agency
incurring the expense of the blood or urine test.
[(h)] (i) As used in this section:
"Convicted one or more times for offenses of habitually operating a vehicle under the influence" means that, at the time of the behavior for which the person is charged under this section, the person had one or more times within ten years of the instant offense:
(1) A judgment on a verdict or a finding of
guilty, or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, for a violation of this section
or section 291-4.4 as that section was in effect on December 31, 2001;
(2) A judgment on a verdict or a finding of
guilty, or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, for an offense that is
comparable to this section or section 291-4.4 as that section was in effect on
December 31, 2001; or
(3) An adjudication of a minor for a law or
probation violation that, if committed by an adult, would constitute a
violation of this section or section 291‑4.4 as that section was in effect
on December 31, 2001,
that, at the time of the instant offense, had not been expunged by pardon, reversed, or set aside. All convictions that have been expunged by pardon, reversed, or set aside before the instant offense shall not be deemed prior convictions for the purposes of proving the person's status as a habitual operator of a vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant.
"Convicted two or more times for offenses of operating a vehicle under the influence" means that, at the time of the behavior for which the person is charged under this section, the person had two or more times within ten years of the instant offense:
(1) A judgment on a verdict or a finding of
guilty, or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, for a violation of section 291E-61
or 707-702.5;
(2) A judgment on a verdict or a finding of
guilty, or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, for an offense that is
comparable to section 291E-61 or 707-702.5; or
(3) An adjudication of a minor for a law or
probation violation that, if committed by an adult, would constitute a
violation of section 291E-61 or 707‑702.5,
that, at the time of the instant offense, had not been expunged by pardon, reversed, or set aside. All convictions that have been expunged by pardon, reversed, or set aside before the instant offense shall not be deemed prior convictions for the purposes of proving that the person is a habitual operator of a vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant.
"Examiner of drivers" has the same meaning as provided in section 286-2.
"Habitual operator of a vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant" means that the person was convicted:
(1) Two or more times for offenses of operating a
vehicle under the influence; or
(2) One or more times for offenses of habitually operating a vehicle under the influence."
SECTION 6. Section 706-643, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§706-643 Disposition of funds. (1) The defendant shall pay a fine or any installment thereof to the cashier or clerk of the district or circuit court. In the event of default in payment, the clerk shall notify the prosecuting attorney and, if the defendant is on probation, the probation officer.
(2)
All fines and other final payments received by a clerk or other
officer of a court shall be accounted for, with the names of persons making
payment, and the amount and date thereof, being recorded. All such funds shall be deposited with the
director of finance to the credit of the general fund of the State. With respect to fines and bail forfeitures
that are proceeds of the wildlife revolving fund under section 183D-10.5; fines
that are proceeds of the drug and alcohol toxicology testing laboratory special
fund under sections 291E-61(b)(2)(E), [291E-61.5(c)(2)(C),] 291E-61.5(d)(2)(C),
and 291E-62(c); and fines that are proceeds of the compliance resolution fund
under sections 26-9(o) and 431:2-410, the director of finance shall transmit
the fines and forfeitures to the respective funds."
SECTION 7. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.
SECTION 8. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 9. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
Report Title:
Driver's License; License Examination; Excessive Speeding; DUI; Penalties
Description:
Requires driver's license examination to test the applicant's knowledge of the dangers that larger motor vehicles present to pedestrians and bicyclists. Requires offenders who are found to be excessively speeding or driving while intoxicated to retake and pass the driver's license examination for each offense. (SD1)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
