A bill motivated by charges against a man who had no driver’s license and 164 traffic citations when he was arrested in the hit-and-run death of a 16-year-old McKinley High School student is on the list of measures that may be vetoed by Gov. Josh Green.
House Bill 2526 was introduced by House Speaker Scott Saiki (D, Ala Moana-Kakaako-Downtown) following the Feb. 15, 2023, collision that took the life of Sara Yara as she was walking in a marked crosswalk on Kapiolani Boulevard on her way to school.
Mitchel Miyashiro, 46, in December was charged with negligent homicide in the first degree and driving without a license, among other offenses. Miyashiro had 164 prior traffic citations, according to state court records, and had pleaded not guilty to driving without a license just nine days before he allegedly killed Yara.
If it becomes law, House Bill 2526 would increase the penalty for a third or subsequent offense involving unauthorized driving or operation of motor vehicles to a class C felony and authorize the court to order the forfeiture of the vehicle used in the offense.
In a statement, Green cited the rationale for vetoing HB 2526 as its potential to increase caseloads for prosecutors, law enforcement, the Judiciary, the Office of the Public Defender, and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, without providing additional funding for enforcement. Implementation costs would also pose a feasibility issue with enacting the bill.
“Gov. Green positioned the bill for possible veto based on concerns from the Office of the Public Defender about elevating these offenses to the level of a felony, and whether we need to focus on enforcement rather than just increasing penalties in hopes that it becomes a deterrent,” Green’s office told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Saiki said the intent of the bill received tremendous support from the community; however, there are some administrative concerns from the police department, the prosecutor’s office and the Judiciary regarding implementation.
The main concern revolves around how to verify the identity of the person for the initial offense, which applies to subsequent offenses. The prosecutor must prove that the offender committed three offenses, requiring evidence for the first and second offenses leading up to the third.
“That would probably be through a fingerprinting requirement. So the issue on implementation is how to make sure that everyone is fingerprinted,” Saiki said.
Saiki on Thursday spoke with the Honolulu Police Department, Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the State Judiciary administrative director, and planned to schedule another meeting with them next week to discuss amendments for implementing the law.
Green has until July 10 to issue final vetoes.
Miyashiro, in addition to being unlicensed, was in traffic court the week before Yara’s death on an unrelated offense, Saiki said.
“This person had a complete history of irresponsible driving,” Saiki said. “The driver had never been sent to jail for his repeat offenses. He has always paid the fine, paid a fine, and was let go by prosecutors and the judges.”
Currently, a repeat offender upon the third offense for driving without a license would only be subject to a misdemeanor offense, punishable by a fine of up to $2,000 and/or up to one year in jail.
The bill would enhance the penalty to a Class C felony, which is punishable with a fine of up to $10,000 and/or jail time of between one and five years, according to Saiki.
On Thursday, during Saiki’s bimonthly Citizens Patrol neighborhood walk with residents in the district, concerns were raised about traffic safety, particularly due to heavy traffic in the area.
Davie Felipe, a Kakaako resident, said HB 2526 “is absolutely important to have this law, especially for the amount of pedestrian incidents that have been occurring. And also since this area is so densely populated.”
Felipe mentioned that while the recent installations of speed humps have contributed to safer roads, they don’t deter speeding entirely as he still notices some cars “going rather fast” over the humps.
Since Yara’s death, Saiki has worked with the state Department of Transportation to install speed humps along Kapiolani Boulevard and red-light cameras at the crosswalk. He said that he’s still in the process of awaiting the city’s installation of left turn signals along the road.
“To have stricter penalties on not having a license, I’m all in favor of that because people’s lives are at stake,” he said. “(Yara) was just a kid. It was so tragic.”
