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Senate committees direct working group to study lowering legal blood‑alcohol limit to 0.05
Summary
SCR 181 and SR 151 were passed with amendments to create a working group to examine lowering Hawaii’s legal BAC limit from 0.08 to 0.05; the group will analyze state data on fatalities, economic effects on hospitality businesses, and invite prosecutors, public defenders and the NTSB to participate.
Joint committees voted to pass SCR 181 and SR 151, measures asking the Department of Transportation to establish a working group to study lowering the state’s legal blood‑alcohol concentration (BAC) limit from 0.08 to 0.05.
Rick Collins of the Hawaii Alcohol Policy Alliance, a project of the Hawaii Public Health Institute, testified in support and asked that the working group include flexibility for the DOT director to add technical experts. Collins said he was available for questions and recommended a minor amendment to broaden expert membership.
The chair outlined amendments directing the working group to prioritize safety and life‑saving measures, examine Hawaii data on alcohol‑related fatalities and injuries, invite the National Transportation Safety Board and include representatives from the public defender’s office, neighbor‑island prosecutors and businesses involved in alcohol sales. The committee also asked the group to analyze expected changes in fatalities and injuries if the limit were reduced to 0.05, study revenue impacts on food and alcohol businesses, and recommend mitigation or transition steps for affected establishments.
With those amendments, the committee adopted the measures. Committee members noted the matter has been subject to previous proposals in past sessions and recommended getting a broad, data‑driven review before pursuing statutory change.
