REPORT TITLE:
Aquatic Resources

DESCRIPTION:
Standardizes the various penalty sections, establishes minimum
fines, and establishes separate and graduated penalties for
chapters 187A, 188, 189, and 190, Hawaii Revised Statutes. (SD1)

 
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                                                        1091
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO AQUATIC RESOURCES.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  Chapter 187A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated
 
 3 and to read as follows:
 
 4      "§187A-    Receipts and reports.  Any person who knowingly
 
 5 misrepresents any material fact or makes a false statement in any
 
 6 document required by subtitle 5 of title 12, or any rule adopted
 
 7 thereunder, shall be guilty of a petty misdemeanor and punished
 
 8 as provided by law."
 
 9      SECTION 2.  Section 187A-6.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
10 amended to read as follows:
 
11      "[[]187A-6.5[]]  Release and confiscation of harmful aquatic
 
12 life[; penalty].  (a)  No person shall release any live non-
 
13 native fish or other live non-native aquatic life being held in
 
14 an aquarium or other confinement for scientific study,
 
15 exhibition, display, sale, or for any other purpose, into any
 
16 waters of the State, except as provided in section 187A-2(4).
 
17      (b)  The department or its agents may seize, confiscate, or
 
18 destroy, as a public nuisance, any fish or other aquatic life
 
19 found in any waters of the State and whose importation is
 
20 prohibited or restricted pursuant to rules of the department of
 

 
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 1 agriculture.
 
 2      [(c)  Any person violating this section shall be guilty of a
 
 3 petty misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished
 
 4 as provided by section 188-70.]"
 
 5      SECTION 3.  Section 187A-13, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 6 amended to read as follows:
 
 7      "§187A-13  General penalty.  (a)  Any person violating [any
 
 8 of the provisions of] this chapter or any rule [of the
 
 9 department] adopted thereunder for which a penalty is not
 
10 otherwise provided, shall be guilty of a petty misdemeanor and
 
11 [upon conviction thereof shall be punished as provided by section
 
12 188-70.], in addition to any other penalties, shall be fined not
 
13 less than:
 
14      (1)  $250 for a first offense;
 
15      (2)  $500 for a second offense; and
 
16      (3)  $1,000 for a third or subsequent offense.
 
17      (b)  The fines specified in this section shall not be
 
18 suspended or waived."
 
19      SECTION 4.  Section 187A-14, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
20 amended to read as follows:
 
21      "§187A-14  Informer's fee.  One-half of the fine imposed and
 
22 collected in all cases wherein the defendant has been convicted
 
23 for a violation of [any of the provisions of this chapter]
 

 
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 1 subtitle 5 of title 12 or any rule adopted thereunder shall be
 
 2 paid to the person giving the information leading to the arrest
 
 3 of the person so convicted; provided that this section shall not
 
 4 apply[,] if the informer is a regular salaried sheriff, deputy
 
 5 sheriff, police officer, warden or constable, or officer or agent
 
 6 of the department."
 
 7      SECTION 5.  Section 187A-15, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 8 amended to read as follows:
 
 9      "[[]§187A-15[]]  Rights of inspection of catch.  Any agent
 
10 of the department upon whom the board has conferred powers of
 
11 police officers or any other enforcement officer of the State
 
12 shall have the authority to conduct examinations and searches of:
 
13      (1)  The contents of any bag or container of any kind used
 
14           to carry aquatic life; or
 
15      (2)  Any vehicle or conveyance used to transport aquatic
 
16           life;
 
17 if such agent or officer has probable cause, as provided by law,
 
18 to believe that such bag, container, vehicle, or conveyance
 
19 contains evidence of a violation of [the fishing laws of the
 
20 State.] subtitle 5 of title 12 or any rule adopted thereunder.
 
21 No person shall refuse any enforcement officer of the department
 
22 or any other enforcement officer of the State such examination
 
23 and search."
 

 
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 1      SECTION 6.  Section 188-70, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended to read as follows:
 
 3      "§188-70  Penalties.(a)  Any person violating [any
 
 4 provision of] this chapter, [excepting] except section 188-23, or
 
 5 any rule adopted pursuant thereto, is guilty of a petty
 
 6 misdemeanor and [upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as
 
 7 follows:
 
 8      (1)  For a first conviction, by a fine of not more than
 
 9           $500, or by imprisonment of not more than thirty days,
 
10           or both;
 
11      (2)  For a second conviction within five years of a previous
 
12           conviction by a fine not less than $100 nor more than
 
13           $500, or by imprisonment of not more than thirty days,
 
14           or both;
 
15      (3)  For a third or subsequent conviction within five years
 
16           of the first two or more convictions, by a fine of not
 
17           less than $300 nor more than $500, or by imprisonment
 
18           of not more than thirty days, or both.], in addition to
 
19           any other penalties, shall be fined not less than:
 
20      (1)  $100 for a first offense;
 
21      (2)  $200 for a second offense; and
 
22      (3)  $500 for a third or subsequent offense.
 

 
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 1      (b)  Any person violating section 188-23[,] is guilty of a
 
 2 [misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof,] class C felony and
 
 3 shall be [punished as follows:
 
 4      (1)  For a first conviction by a fine of not more than
 
 5           $1,000, or by imprisonment of not more than one year,
 
 6           or both;
 
 7      (2)  For a second conviction within five years of a previous
 
 8           conviction, by a fine of not less than $250 nor more
 
 9           than $1,000 or by imprisonment of not more than one
 
10           year, or both;
 
11      (3)  For a third or subsequent conviction within five years
 
12           of the first two or more convictions, by a fine of not
 
13           less than $500 nor more than $1,000, or by imprisonment
 
14           of not more than one year, or both.]
 
15 sentenced pursuant to chapter 706; provided that the court, in
 
16 addition to any term of imprisonment or any other terms and
 
17 conditions of probation, shall order the defendant to pay a fine
 
18 of not less than $1,000.
 
19      (c)  [In addition to the above penalties, for the first
 
20 conviction a fine of up to $100 may be levied for each specimen
 
21 of aquatic life taken or rock or coral broken or damaged
 
22 illegally under this chapter; provided that for every subsequent
 
23 conviction within five years of the first conviction, a fine of
 

 
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 1 up to $100 shall be levied for each specimen of aquatic life
 
 2 taken or rock or coral broken or damaged illegally under this
 
 3 chapter.]  Notwithstanding section 706-669 and any other law to
 
 4 the contrary, any person in violation of subsection (b), as a
 
 5 first offense, shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum period
 
 6 of imprisonment without possibility of parole for thirty days.
 
 7 Repeat offenders shall be sentenced pursuant to chapter 706.
 
 8      (d)  The fines specified in this section shall not be
 
 9 suspended or waived."
 
10      SECTION 7.  Section 189-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
11 amended to read as follows:
 
12      "§189-4  Penalties.  [In addition to the revocation of a
 
13 commercial marine license, any] (a)  Any person violating [any of
 
14 the provisions of sections 189-2 and 189-3] this chapter for
 
15 which a penalty is not otherwise provided, or any rule of the
 
16 department adopted thereunder, shall be guilty of a petty
 
17 misdemeanor[, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not
 
18 less than $25 nor more than $500, or imprisoned not less than
 
19 five nor more than thirty days or both;] and punishable as
 
20 provided in subsection (b); provided that in the case of a
 
21 corporation violating any of the provisions only the fine shall
 
22 be imposed, but any officer of the corporation who wilfully
 
23 procures or permits the violation of the provisions by the
 

 
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 1 corporation shall be subject to fine [and] or imprisonment, or
 
 2 both, as in the case of an individual violating the same.
 
 3      (b)  The punishment, in addition to any other penalties,
 
 4 shall be a fine of not less than:
 
 5      (1)  $250 for a first offense;
 
 6      (2)  $500 for a second offense; and
 
 7      (3)  $1,000 for a third or subsequent offense.
 
 8      (c)  The fines specified in this section shall not be
 
 9 suspended or waived."
 
10      SECTION 8.  Section 189-14, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
11 amended to read as follows:
 
12      "§189-14  Rights of entry, penalties.  The department [of
 
13 land and natural resources] may board any vessel, whether
 
14 commercial or non-commercial, capable of being used in taking
 
15 marine life, or enter any place of business where marine life is
 
16 sold, stored, processed, cooked, canned, or cured, for purposes
 
17 of investigation and inspection, and inspect any and all books
 
18 and records containing account of the marine life taken, bought,
 
19 or sold.
 
20      Any person who fails to permit an inspection as provided in
 
21 this section, or who refuses to produce any book or record
 
22 containing any information of the marine life taken, bought, or
 
23 sold, and any person who interferes with any officer or agent of
 

 
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 1 the department in the performance of the officer's or agent's
 
 2 duty as authorized in this section, shall be guilty of a petty
 
 3 misdemeanor and[, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not
 
 4 less than $25 nor more than $500, or imprisoned not less than
 
 5 five nor more than thirty days, or both.] punished as provided by
 
 6 section 189-4 or as otherwise provided by law."
 
 7      SECTION 9.  Section 190-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 8 amended to read as follows:
 
 9      "§190-5  Penalty.  (a)  Any person violating this chapter,
 
10 any rule adopted pursuant thereto, or the terms and conditions of
 
11 any permit issued under section 190-4, shall be guilty of a petty
 
12 misdemeanor and [fined not more than $500 or imprisoned not more
 
13 than thirty days, or both.] punished as provided in subsections
 
14 (b) and (c).
 
15      (b)  The punishment, in addition to any other penalties,
 
16 shall be a fine of not less than:
 
17      (1)  $250 for a first offense;
 
18      (2)  $500 for a second offense; and
 
19      (3)  $1,000 for a third or subsequent offense.
 
20      (c)  The fines specified in this section shall not be
 
21 suspended or waived."
 
22      SECTION 10.  Section 189-13, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
23 repealed.
 

 
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 1      ["§189-13  Penalty.  Any person violating any of the
 
 2 provisions of sections 189-10 and 189-11, or who misrepresents or
 
 3 makes a false statement in the issuance of receipts or in the
 
 4 reports, shall be fined not more than $500, or imprisoned not
 
 5 more than one hundred days, or both."]
 
 6      SECTION 11.  Section 189-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 7 repealed.
 
 8      ["§189-16  Penalties.  A person violating the provisions of
 
 9 section 189-15 or any of the sections in this part for which a
 
10 penalty is not otherwise provided, or any rule of the department
 
11 adopted thereunder, shall be guilty of a petty misdemeanor, and
 
12 upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as provided by law;
 
13 provided that any punishment for any violation of the provisions
 
14 of section 189-15 shall not be deemed to preclude the State from
 
15 bringing legal actions for damages to, or loss of, such fish
 
16 aggregating devices."]
 
17      SECTION 12.  This Act does not affect rights and duties that
 
18 matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were
 
19 begun, before its effective date.
 
20      SECTION 13.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
21 New statutory material is underscored.
 
22      SECTION 14.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 

 
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