Committee trims DUI bill but approves amendments after mixed testimony on lower BAC and enforcement process

The House Committee on Transportation on March 20, 2025, voted to pass Senate Bill 1285, but removed provisions that would have created a new infraction for operating a vehicle while impaired and instead adopted a set of technical and substantive amendments.

Under committee action, the committee deleted sections 1–3 of the Senate draft—removing the proposed new misdemeanor/infraction offense language—and renumbered remaining subsections. The committee amended Hawaii Revised Statutes section 291E-41 (as noted in the bill) to clarify that revocation periods for respondents who refuse testing after being informed under section 291E-15 would be doubled from the period otherwise imposed under the specified revocation provisions. The committee also adopted conforming edits and aligned this measure with the earlier SB 597 amendment that set written review decision deadlines at 14 and 28 days.

Deputy Attorney General Elise Oyama testified with concerns about one portion of the bill that sought to create a new infraction to address impairment at blood-alcohol concentrations below 0.08. Oyama said Hawaii already has a statute that allows officers to use observed driving to take enforcement action at lower BACs and expressed concern that converting such conduct into an infraction may conflict with ordinary infraction-processing goals and could work counter to efficient use of law enforcement resources.

The Office of the Public Defender registered opposition, noting concerns about due-process implications and that shifting cases into an administrative or infraction process could lead to greater contesting by defendants and case-management burdens. The public defender's testimony also warned the committee that existing OVUII/DUI court processes are already overburdened.

Multiple testimony statements in favor of lowering the legal blood-alcohol concentration to 0.05 were offered by members of the public and advocacy organizations. Cynthia Okazaki, an individual on Zoom, urged the committee to support the measure's aims and cited Utah's 2019 experience after lowering the legal BAC to 0.05; she said alcohol sales in Utah increased 28% after that change and argued the change separates drinking from driving and reduces crashes. The Department of Transportation, county prosecutors and several advocacy groups registered support or support with comments.

After discussion and the committee's technical amendments, the chair's recommendation to pass SB 1285 with amendments was adopted. The committee noted excused absences for Representatives Cochran, Kitagawa and LaChica. The record indicates the chair's recommendation was adopted and the bill will move out of committee with the adopted changes.