HB 231 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLE INSURANCE.

HB 231 increases penalties for drivers who fail to maintain required motor vehicle insurance. It directly affects drivers who operate vehicles without valid insurance coverage. The bill raises the fines for these violations, with changes taking effect on July 1, 3000. This is a straightforward policy adjustment to strengthen enforcement of insurance requirements.

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

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What changed between versions

HB231 → HB231_HD1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill increases the fines for driving without motor vehicle insurance in Hawaii, raising the maximum penalty from $5,000 to $5,500 and the minimum penalty for repeat offenses from $2,000 to $2,500. It also modifies the court's discretion in handling non-payment by listing specific options like extending payment time or converting fines to community service. The effective date of the act is set to July 1, 3000, which appears to be a placeholder or clerical error.

Scope change

The bill applies to all operators, owners, or registrants of motor vehicles in Hawaii who violate insurance requirements, with no change to the scope of applicability.

REQUIREMENT

Increased the maximum fine for violating motor vehicle insurance laws from $5,000 to $5,500.

Raised the minimum fine for subsequent offenses within five years from $2,000 to $2,500.

ENFORCEMENT

Updated the list of court options for handling non-payment to include specific actions like extending payment time, reducing installments, revoking fines, or converting fines to community service.

TIMELINE

Set the effective date of the act to July 1, 3000, which is likely an error or placeholder.

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. 74) 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