STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2141

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2253

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred S.B. No. 2253 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HIGHWAY SAFETY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to amend the offense of negligent injury in the first degree to include injuries negligently inflicted by intoxicated drivers.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Maui, Office of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Hawaiʻi, Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization, and one individual.

Your Committee finds that under existing law, substantial injuries negligently caused by an intoxicated driver, including lacerations and bone fractures, are often prosecuted as a misdemeanor. Your Committee further finds that consequently, impaired drivers who negligently injure other road users, including pedestrians, cyclists, and other non-motorized travelers, are not subject to penalties commensurate to the harm they inflict. Accordingly, this measure will authorize felony prosecution of intoxicated drivers who negligently injure another person, thereby providing prosecutors with an important tool to seek appropriate justice for victims of impaired driving incidents.

Your Committee notes the concern raised by the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Maui that clarification is needed to avoid ambiguity as to whether a person is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Your Committee further notes the concern raised by the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Maui that additional clarification is needed to avoid merger and related issues.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language that establishes criteria to clarify when a person is considered to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs;

(2) Inserting language to establish that a conviction and sentence for negligent injury in the first degree inflicted by an intoxicated driver shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any conviction and sentence for any offense the intoxicated driver may be subject to under chapter 291E, Hawaii Revised Statutes, but may be administered concurrently or consecutively with another offense;

(3) Specifying that each instance of negligent substantial bodily injury to another person inflicted by an intoxicated driver shall constitute a separate offense; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2253, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2253, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation,

________________________________

LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair