Measure aimed at hiking DUI penalties for highly intoxicated drivers advances

A Hawai‘i House of Representatives committee advanced a measure with amendments that would make a second offense for driving under the influence of an intoxicant with a blood-alcohol content of more than 0.15% — within 10 years of a driver’s first DUI conviction — as a Class C felony.

The 9-member House Transportation Committee on Tuesday (Feb. 17) gave House Bill 1708 seven ayes with no reservations. Reps. Elle Cochran and Elijah Pierick were excused.

House Bill 1708 now moves to the House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee for further consideration.

The legal blood-alcohol content for driving in the state of Hawai‘i is 0.08%. Another House bill that would lower the legal limit to 0.05% also was introduced this session, and now is headed to committee hearings.

Written testimony submitted for the Tuesday hearing showed overwhelming support for the measure, which initially proposed also upgrading the first DUI offense with a blood-alcohol content of more than 0.15% to a Class C felony.

Hawai‘i County Prosecutor Kelden Waltjen submitted this amendment, which was accepted by the committee.

• A first conviction as a highly intoxicated driver would be a misdemeanor offense, instead of a felony, and punishable by either 10 days in jail and statutory provisions or 1 year of probation, with no less than 5 days in jail and statutory provisions.

Waltjen submitted another amendment, which also was approved by lawmakers:

• A second conviction as a highly intoxicated driver within 10 years of the first DUI conviction would be a Class C felony and punishable by either a 5-year prison term or 4 years probation, with no less than 30 days jail and statutory provisions.

The first draft of the bill made a first DUI conviction as a highly intoxicated driver a Class C felony, which required no less than 48 hours to 5 days in jail. For a second offense within 10 years of a prior conviction, no more than 30 days in jail.

Statutory provisions, or requirements, include revocation of a driver’s license, community service and attending a substance abuse program.

According to the University of Toledo in Ohio, a person with a blood-alcohol content of more than 0.15% is very drunk and possibly showing symptoms such as:

• Nausea.
• Disorientation and dizziness.
• Increased motor impairment.
• Blurred vision.
• Further impaired judgment and even possibly a strong state of depression.

A person with a blood-alcohol content of 0.08% to 0.10% is legally impaired, possibly exhibiting symptoms such as:

• Euphoria.
• Fatigue.
• Impaired balance, speech, vision (particularly peripheral), reaction time and hearing.
• Impaired judgment and self-control.

Someone who is “buzzed” with a blood-alcohol content of 0.05% to 0.07% can show symptoms that can include:

• Relaxation.
• Euphoria.
• Lower inhibitions.
• Minor impairment of reasoning and memory.
• Exaggerated emotions, positive and negative.

Anyone now pulled over with a blood-alcohol content of 0.15% or more faces a highly intoxicated driver charge, which is a petty misdemeanor with enhancements that include additional fines, minimal jail time and an additional driver’s license revocation period.

“These enhancements are not sufficient to address the concerns and deter this hazardous conduct,” states House Bill 1708.

Hawai‘i Police Department data show the Big Island has had 76 DUI arrests so far this year.

The department’s Traffic Services Section also reports a total of 119 major crashes so far this year. That’s a 21.43% increase compared with last year when 98 major crashes were reported by this time.

Information was not available about how many of the 76 DUI arrests involved drivers with a blood-alcohol content of more than 0.15%

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says 67% of alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in the country involved a driver with a blood alco of 0.15 or higher in 2021.

The federal agency also reports that in March 2023 all states — except Hawaiʻi, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Mississippi and Vermont — increased penalties for drivers with high blood-alcohol content levels.

That data alone, Waltjen said, is exactly why the islands need to increase the penalty structure for this type of behavior that puts the public at risk.

“Clearly, what we’re doing right now isn’t working,” he told the committee via Zoom. “These are not momentary lapses in judgment. Driving while highly intoxicated demonstrates extreme disregard for the safety of others on our roadways and the tragic results.”

Waltjen said this bill is a step in the right direction to keep people accountable.

Transportation Committee Chairperson and O‘ahu state Rep. Darius Kila said the panel should move the bill ahead because it has strong deterrents, specifically the possibility to serve 10 days in jail for a first offense.

“Ten days is missing work,” Kila said. “Ten days is missing scheduled things that you plan.”

He added: “Obviously, folks aren’t learning.”

Hawai‘i State Office of Public Defender provided the sole opposition to the measure.

William Bento provided oral testimony to the committee, saying that while he understands the 0.15% blood-alcohol content is a scary number, “there are other reasons why a person might go to the machine or take a blood test and have that high number. It’s not really a reflection on their poor driving.”

Written testimony from the public defender’s office stated it fully supports efforts to promote roadway safety and prevent impaired driving; however, House Bill 1708 represents a “significant and unwarranted expansion of felony criminal liability that will not meaningfully improve public safety, will exacerbate existing inequities in the criminal justice system and will impose substantial fiscal costs on the state of Hawaiʻi without clear evidence of effectiveness.”

The public defender’s office also noted in its testimony that there already exists state law recognizing “highly intoxicated” driving with enhanced penalties such as mandatory minimum jail time beyond standard penalties and extended driver’s license revocation periods (without the possibility of early termination of the revocation period).

Bento told committee members he understands the concern about public safety.

“We drive on the roads, too,” he said. “We all have families as well. But this is a crime of misjudgment, not really a crime of criminal intent, so to speak.”

Bento said he would view change through public education and a stronger push toward others taking responsibility to keep intoxicated people off the street, “by being a friend, driving them home, taking away their car keys, all of those kinds of things that can be done. Because misjudgment is something that’s really hard to legislate.”

Hawai‘i State Judiciary also provided testimony, informing committee members that this proposed legislation would increase the caseloads in Circuit Court by an averages of:

• 128 cases per year in the 1st Circuit on O‘ahu.
• 68 cases per year in the 3rd Circuit on Hawai‘i Island.
• 18 cases per year in the 5th Circuit on Kaua‘i.
• 2 cases per year in the 2nd Circuit on Maui.

Given that anticipated statewide increase in jury trials — and in light of the constitutional right of all defendants to a speedy trial — the state Judiciary would likely require an additional Circuit Court judge — and statutory authorization for the same — with a full staff on Oʻahu plus possibly additional resources in other circuits and more funding for probation services.

Waltjen said he supports the Judiciary in getting the additional judge and services to address this issue.