THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	151
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

urging the department of transportation to establish a working group on lowering the legal limit of blood alcohol concentration to 0.05 GRAMS OF ALCOHOL PER ONE HUNDRED MILLILITERS OF BLOOD.

WHEREAS, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Commission, about thirty-seven people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes every day; and

WHEREAS, that number equates to one person dying every thirty-nine minutes; and

WHEREAS, in 2022, 13,524 people died in alcohol-impaired driving traffic deaths across the United States; and

WHEREAS, from 2011 to 2022, at least forty percent of traffic fatalities in Hawaii involved alcohol; and

WHEREAS, research published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs in 2012 shows that if a person's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is between 0.05 and 0.08 percent, their chances of being killed in a crash where only the person's vehicle is involved are at least seven times higher than if the person had not been drinking at all; and

WHEREAS, reducing the legal BAC limit to 0.05 percent would likely lead to fewer instances of impaired driving and its consequences; and

WHEREAS, a 0.05 percent BAC limit would serve as a general deterrent to impaired driving and affects all would-be drinking drivers; and

WHEREAS, more than one hundred countries have reduced their legal BAC levels to 0.05 percent or lower, including Australia, France, Austria, Italy, Spain, and Germany; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that the Department of Transportation is urged to establish a working group on lowering the legal limit of blood alcohol concentration to 0.05 grams of alcohol per one hundred milliliters of blood; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to consist of the following members:

(1) The Director of Transportation or the Director's designee;

(2) A representative from the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu;

(3) A representative from an office or department of the prosecuting attorney located on a neighbor island;

(4) A representative from the Hawaii Alcohol Policy Alliance; and

(5) A representative from the field of traffic safety and research with expertise in alcohol-impaired driving; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to submit a report to the Legislature of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2026; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Transportation, and Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Department of Transportation; Blood Alcohol Concentration; Working Group