SB2384

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that impaired driving is a significant problem in Hawaiʻi, as intoxicated driving is the leading cause of traffic fatalities and impacts the lives of innocent people. In recent years, traffic fatalities have increased across the State, with intoxicants such as alcohol becoming one of the most significant factors. As blood alcohol concentration levels also change the behavior of those driving after drinking, the magnitude of impairment increases with increased blood alcohol concentration. Lowering the threshold for impaired driving brings the State closer to making Hawaiʻi's roads safer for all users.

The legislature further finds that in 2013, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended that all fifty states adopt a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit of 0.05 compared to the 0.08 standard. According to NTSB, lowering the limit to 0.05 would save approximately five hundred to eight hundred lives annually. Lowering the threshold to 0.05 BAC would save lives, prevent catastrophic injuries, and decrease medical costs. Evaluations of lowering the BAC limit to 0.05 in other industrialized countries and one U.S. state (Utah) show strong associations with reductions in alcohol-impaired driving crashes and fatalities. A 0.05 BAC is not typically reached with a couple of drinks. It takes at least four drinks for the average 170 pound male to exceed 0.05 BAC in two hours on an empty stomach (3 drinks for the average 137 pound female).

The legislature additionally finds that over one hundred countries have adopted a BAC limit of 0.05 or lower, including nearly all European countries, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, and most other industrialized Asian countries. In total, over eighty-five per cent of the world's population lives under a 0.05 or lower BAC limit. For more than a decade, NTSB has recommended that all states adopt a 0.05 BAC. The National Safety Council, American Medical Association, and World Health Organization have all also recommended a 0.05 BAC limit to prevent and reduce traffic crashes and fatalities.

The legislature further finds impaired driving fatalities have been increasing over the past few years in Hawaiʻi. In 2020, there were one hundred fourteen drivers involved in fatal crashes in Hawaiʻi. In 2021, there were one hundred twenty-seven drivers involved in deadly crashes. In 2022, there were one hundred sixty-five drivers involved in fatal crashes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), four hundred people were killed in crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver in Hawaiʻi between 2009 and 2018. Lowering the BAC limit to 0.05 will serve as a general deterrent to impaired driving and has the potential to save lives in states that adopt such a limit. The CDC reported that 2.1 per cent of drivers in Hawaiʻi said that they drove after drinking too much, which is more than the national average of 1.7 per cent. Evidence shows that lowering the BAC limit to 0.05 deters drivers at all BAC levels above and below 0.05. One study estimates that nationwide adoption of a 0.05 BAC limit would save 1,790 lives annually.

The legislature also finds that there is strong public support for lowering the BAC to 0.05. A recent statewide poll of Hawaiʻi voters showed a substantial majority, sixty-two per cent, expressed support for the reduction of the BAC threshold from 0.08 to 0.05.

The purpose of this Act is to lower the blood alcohol concentration threshold for driving while under the influence of alcohol from 0.08 to 0.05.

SECTION 2. Section 291E-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By amending the definition of "measurable amount of alcohol" to read:

""Measurable amount of alcohol" means a test result equal to or greater than .02 but less than [~~.08~~] .05 grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters or cubic centimeters of blood or equal to or greater than .02 but less than [~~.08~~] .05 grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of breath."

2. By amending the definition of "under the influence" to read:

""Under the influence" means that a person:

(1) Is 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;

(2) Is under the influence of any drug that impairs the person's ability to operate the vehicle in a careful and prudent manner;

(3) Has [~~.08~~] .05 or more grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of the person's breath; or

(4) Has [~~.08~~] .05 or more grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters or cubic centimeters of the person's blood."

SECTION 3. Section 291E-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (a) and (b) to read as follows:

"(a) In any criminal prosecution for a violation of section 291E-61 or 291E-61.5 or in any proceeding under part III:

(1) [~~.08~~] .05 or more grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters or cubic centimeters of the person's blood;

(2) [~~.08~~] .05 or more grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of the person's breath; or

(3) The presence of one or more drugs in an amount sufficient to impair the person's ability to operate a vehicle in a careful and prudent manner,

within three hours after the time of the alleged violation as shown by chemical analysis or other approved analytical techniques of the person's blood, breath, or urine shall be competent evidence that the person was under the influence of an intoxicant at the time of the alleged violation.

(b) In any criminal prosecution for a violation of section 291E-61 or 291E-61.5, the amount of alcohol found in the defendant's blood or breath within three hours after the time of the alleged violation as shown by chemical analysis or other approved analytical techniques of the defendant's blood or breath shall be competent evidence concerning whether the defendant was under the influence of an intoxicant at the time of the alleged violation and shall give rise to the following presumptions:

(1) If there were [~~.05~~] .02 or less grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters or cubic centimeters of defendant's blood or [~~.05~~] .02 or less grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of defendant's breath, it shall be presumed that the defendant was not under the influence of alcohol at the time of the alleged violation; and

(2) If there were in excess of [~~.05~~] .02 grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters or cubic centimeters of defendant's blood or [~~.05~~] .02 grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of defendant's breath, but less than [~~.08~~] .05 grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters or cubic centimeters of defendant's blood or [~~.08~~] .05 grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of defendant's breath, that fact may be considered with other competent evidence in determining whether the defendant was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the alleged violation, but shall not of itself give rise to any presumption."

SECTION 4. Section 291E-35, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) In cases involving an alcohol related offense, if a test conducted in accordance with part II and section 321‑161 and the rules adopted thereunder shows that a respondent had an alcohol concentration less than [~~.08,~~] .05, the director or the arresting law enforcement agency immediately shall return the respondent's license along with a certified statement that administrative revocation proceedings have been terminated with prejudice."

SECTION 5. Section 291E-36, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) Whenever a respondent has been arrested for a violation of section 291E-61 or 291E-61.5 and submits to a test that establishes: the respondent's alcohol concentration was [~~.08~~] .05 or more; the presence, in the respondent's blood or urine, of any drug that is capable of impairing the respondent's ability to operate a vehicle in a careful and prudent manner; or whenever a respondent has been involved in a collision resulting in injury or death and a blood or urine test performed pursuant to section 291E-21 establishes that the respondent's alcohol concentration was [~~.08~~] .05 or more or establishes the presence in the respondent's blood or urine of any drug that is capable of impairing the respondent's ability to operate a vehicle in a careful and prudent manner, the following shall be forwarded immediately to the director:

(1) A copy of the arrest report or the report of the law enforcement officer who issued the notice of administrative revocation to the person involved in a collision resulting in injury or death and the sworn statement of the arresting law enforcement officer or the officer who issued the notice of administrative revocation, stating facts that establish that:

(A) There was reasonable suspicion to stop the vehicle, the vehicle was stopped at an intoxicant control roadblock established and operated in compliance with sections 291E-19 and 291E-20, or the respondent was tested pursuant to section 291E-21;

(B) There was probable cause to believe that the respondent had been operating the vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant; and

(2) In a case involving an alcohol related offense, the sworn statement of the person responsible for maintenance of the testing equipment, stating facts that establish that, pursuant to section 321-161 and rules adopted thereunder:

(A) The equipment used to conduct the test was approved for use as an alcohol testing device in this State;

(B) The person had been trained and at the time the test was conducted was certified and capable of maintaining the testing equipment; and

(C) The testing equipment used had been properly maintained and was in good working condition when the test was conducted;

(3) In a case involving an alcohol related offense, the sworn statement of the person who conducted the test, stating facts that establish that, pursuant to section 321-161 and rules adopted thereunder:

(A) The person was trained and at the time the test was conducted was certified and capable of operating the testing equipment;

(B) The person followed the procedures established for conducting the test;

(C) The equipment used to conduct the test functioned in accordance with operating procedures and indicated that the respondent's alcohol concentration was at, or above, the prohibited level; and

(D) The person whose breath or blood was tested is the respondent;

(4) In a case involving a drug related offense, the sworn statement of the person responsible for maintenance of the testing equipment, stating facts that establish that, pursuant to section 321-161 and rules adopted thereunder:

(A) The equipment used to conduct the test was approved for use in drug testing;

(B) The person conducting the test had been trained and, at the time of the test, was certified and capable of maintaining the testing equipment; and

(C) The testing equipment used had been properly maintained and was in good working condition when the test was conducted;

(5) In a case involving a drug related offense, the sworn statement of the person who conducted the test, stating facts that establish that, pursuant to section 321-161 and rules adopted thereunder:

(A) At the time the test was conducted, the person was trained and capable of operating the testing equipment;

(B) The person followed the procedures established for conducting the test;

(C) The equipment used to conduct the test functioned in accordance with operating procedures and indicated the presence of one or more drugs or their metabolites in the respondent's blood or urine; and

(D) The person whose blood or urine was tested is the respondent;

(6) A copy of the notice of administrative revocation issued by the law enforcement officer to the respondent;

(7) Any license taken into possession by the law enforcement officer; and

(8) A listing of any prior alcohol or drug enforcement contacts involving the respondent."

SECTION 6. Section 291E-61, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) A person commits the offense of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant if the person operates or assumes actual physical control of a vehicle:

(1) 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;

(2) While under the influence of any drug that impairs the person's ability to operate the vehicle in a careful and prudent manner;

(3) With [~~.08~~] .05 or more grams of alcohol per two hundred ten liters of breath; or

(4) With [~~.08~~] .05 or more grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters or cubic centimeters of blood."

SECTION 7. Section 291E-61.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(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;

(D) With [~~.08~~] .05 or more grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters or cubic centimeters of blood."

SECTION 8. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 9. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 10. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2384
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
STATE OF HAWAII