HB 227 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO VEHICLE SAFETY.

HB 227 creates new fines for drivers operating cars or mopeds without a current vehicle safety inspection certificate. It directly affects drivers who operate vehicles without a valid safety inspection, increasing penalties for this violation. The bill adds specific additional fines to the existing penalty structure for operating un-inspected vehicles. This law would take effect on July 1, 3000 (as stated in the bill).

Issues: ✓ Transportation

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 16, 2025 Last action Dec 8, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HB227 → HB227_HD1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was updated to reflect its progression to the House of Representatives (HD1) and includes a significant procedural change by adding a sunset clause that sets the law's effective date to July 1, 3000. Additionally, the fine amounts for operating a vehicle without an inspection certificate were increased from $100/$200 to $150/$250, and the penalty language was adjusted to remove a specific maximum cap for expired certificates.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on vehicle safety and inspection penalties, but the addition of a future effective date technically alters the timeline for enforcement until that year arrives.

TIMELINE

Added a sunset clause setting the effective date to July 1, 3000, which delays enforcement of the new penalties for over 75 years.

ENFORCEMENT

Increased fines for first and second offenses of operating a vehicle without a current inspection certificate from $100/$200 to $150/$250.

Revised the penalty language for expired certificates to remove a specific maximum fine cap, allowing the fine to be based solely on the tiered offense structure.

TECHNICAL

Added a standard non-retroactivity clause to protect rights and penalties established before the bill's effective date.

Updated document metadata to reflect the bill's status as HD1 and changed the language style from lowercase to uppercase for the title and subject.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 4, 2025

Committee

Reported from TRN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 75) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

lower

Jan 28, 2025

Lower · Passed

The committee on TRN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 8 Ayes: Representative(s) Kila, Grandinetti, Evslin, Kitagawa, La Chica, Miyake, Muraoka, Pierick; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Cochran.

lower

Jan 21, 2025

Committee

Referred to TRN, JHA, FIN, referral sheet 1

lower

Jan 17, 2025

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 16, 2025

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

5 primary · 0 co-sponsors