RELATING TO YOUTH PENALTIES.
SB2540 would broadly prohibit Hawaii courts from imposing fees, fines, court costs, surcharges, restitution-related collection charges, and similar financial penalties on people for offenses committed while they were under 18, and it would also bar those charges from being imposed on the person’s parent or guardian. The bill applies this rule across a wide range of juvenile and youth-related statutes, including traffic offenses, DUI and underage drinking provisions, administrative hearing fees, compensation fees, drug testing and assessment fees, school vandalism, graffiti, juvenile detention and shelter costs, counsel-related reimbursement, and certain family court proceedings. It also requires that community service, when used as an alternative, not interfere with school or work commitments.
The bill also repeals several older statutes that imposed penalties on parents or other adults connected to minors in curfew- and dance-hall-related contexts. In addition, it directs courts to consider and encourage community-based and “aina-based” programs, restorative justice, and other non-monetary accountability measures for youth. A retroactive provision would void outstanding court-ordered juvenile fees, fines, and administrative costs already assessed against covered persons, and require reimbursement of payments made after the bill’s effective date toward those now-void obligations. The act is set to take effect on July 1, 2027.
If enacted, SB2540 would significantly amend Hawaii Revised Statutes by inserting juvenile-specific fee and fine prohibitions into multiple chapters, including motor vehicle laws, juvenile justice provisions, school discipline-related restitution, and court fee statutes. It would eliminate the ability of courts and agencies to assess or collect many financial obligations from minors for offenses committed before age 18, and it would also prevent those obligations from being shifted to parents or guardians in the covered contexts. The bill further repeals three parent/escort penalty statutes in chapter 577 and changes collection rules so juvenile monetary assessments are excluded from delinquent debt collection contracts. Its retroactive voiding provision would also erase existing covered debts and related collection costs.
The available legislative record suggests generally favorable sentiment toward the bill in committee. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee passed the measure with amendments by a 5-0 vote, and the bill advanced on second reading with the amended draft. The bill text itself reflects a strong policy preference for replacing monetary punishment with community service, restorative practices, and culturally grounded programming, indicating support for juvenile justice reform and relief from debt burdens on youth and families.
The main policy tension is between eliminating financial penalties for youth and preserving accountability for juvenile misconduct. Supporters of the bill emphasize that fines and court costs are ineffective, disproportionately burdensome, and especially harmful to Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander minors and their families. Potential concerns are likely to center on loss of revenue for court and program funds, the removal of parent/guardian liability in some contexts, and the retroactive cancellation of outstanding obligations. Another possible point of debate is whether the bill goes too far by sweeping in a broad range of offenses, including traffic and alcohol-related violations, and by limiting courts’ discretion to impose monetary sanctions even where they are currently authorized.