The Hawai‘i County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney has sent a letter urging Governor Ige to sign House Bill No. 1486, HD2, SD1 (“HB 1486”) into law.  The bill will increase the penalty for felony theft of motor vehicles and motorcycles from a maximum 5 year prison term to a maximum 10 year prison term.

Currently, most auto and motorcycle thefts are prosecuted as Theft in the Second Degree and/or Unauthorized Control of a Propelled Vehicle in the First Degree, both of which are only class C felony offenses punishable by a maximum 5 year prison term. HB 1486 establishes Theft of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles as a subsection of Theft in the First Degree, which is a class B felony offense punishable by a maximum 10 year prison term.

In December 2021, the Hawai‘i County Prosecutor’s Office conducted an online legislative initiatives survey. Of those 1,422 who participated in the survey, 1,265 or 89.21% supported establishing Theft of a Motor Vehicle as a class B felony offense.

Public comments can be submitted to the Governor’s Office via the following link: https://governor.hawaii.gov/contact-us/comments-on-legislation/.