Hawaii’s judges have imposed fewer fines to youth in recent years as juvenile justice advocates nationwide push to decrease the financial toll of going through the justice system. 

Kauaʻi’s former prosecuting attorney, Justin Kollar, announced in 2021 that his office would stop seeking fines against juvenile defendants unless required by statute. On Oʻahu, just three kids have been fined for breaking the law in the past four years, according to a state report.

Now lawmakers may get involved, with a bill that would ban mandatory fines and fees, and potentially other court costs, for minors found to have committed certain offenses. Such fines have been found to pull kids deeper into the criminal justice system and put financial strain on their families, many of whom are already struggling.

Instead, the bill would allow judges to require community service.

The House and Senate have passed differing versions of the bill. But before lawmakers resolve those differences and put the proposal up for a final vote, a few said they’re reconsidering whether they need to act at all.

The question before lawmakers, said Rep. David Tarnas, who represents North and South Kohala, is, “Will this bill be helpful to the judges to give them more discretion to be able to require community service?”

Supporters argue that the bill’s emphasis on community service is a step toward lessening the harms of a juvenile justice system that historically has had a disproportionate effect on Native Hawaiian youth.

Data Shows A Drop In Youth Fines

This is the third time that advocates have tried to get Hawaiʻi lawmakers to eliminate mandatory court-related fines and fees levied against Hawaiʻi’s youth.

In 2023, after a similar effort failed, lawmakers passed a resolution calling on the Office of the Administrative Director of the Courts to compile data from each judicial district on how often judges require juveniles to pay fees, fines and restitution and how much is collected.

The report, published in December, shows that in some parts of the state, fines used to be common. Almost 80% of the fines levied between 2019 and 2024 were in the Second Circuit, which includes Maui, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi, according to a Civil Beat analysis of the data. But the number has steadily declined since 2020. The court collected just $325 of the nearly $24,000 in fines imposed over that period. (The report does not say which fines were mandatory and which were not.)

From 2019 to 2021, the Fifth Circuit, which includes Kauaʻi, collected the most in fines – nearly $3,000. Nothing has been collected since the former prosecutor said his office wouldn’t pursue non-mandatory fines.

Only the Third Circuit on the Big Island collected any fines last year, according to the report – a $150 fine ordered in a single case. 

That’s why Mark Browning, who recently retired as a judge on the First Circuit, wonders whether the bill is needed.

“I can’t remember any time in my experience, all those years I was in family court, where I issued a fee or some sort of fine,” Browning said, although he noted he didn’t handle traffic cases.

Tarnas said that judges’ reluctance to issue fines is a reason to get rid of them entirely — at least, for some offenses.

“Very few fines and fees are charged by judges,” he said. “They must have come to the same conclusion.”

Bill Would Replace Fines With Community Service

The version of Senate Bill 1028 passed by the Senate was relatively straightforward. It would eliminate mandatory fines for certain motor vehicle offenses, including driving without a valid license, driving under the influence and leaving the scene of a wreck, and instead require up to 72 hours of community service. The bill wouldn’t eliminate restitution paid to a victim or get rid of any forms of non-monetary punishment, including incarceration.

When the bill reached the House, lawmakers broadened it. Their version would eliminate mandatory restitution for vandalism of a public school and other types of court fees and costs.

As the legislative session approaches its frantic climax, the bill is caught up in a debate over how widely it should apply — if it is passed at all.  

Under current law, judges can impose other requirements if they determine that someone can’t afford to pay a fine or restitution — but not if it’s required by statute. The bill under consideration would not only eliminate mandatory fines, it would prevent judges from imposing them for those offenses.

Sen. Karl Rhoads, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that may go too far.

“I’m not convinced that blanket prohibition makes sense,” he said. He prefers to allow judges to decide whether fines are necessary and to determine whether a young person or their family can pay them. 

Rhoads agreed that for poor defendants and their families, fines that are more than nominal can be harmful. “But if you’re from a wealthier family, then I’m not sure why we would want to take them off the table,” he said.

Tarnas agreed that judges should be able to make the call. If the bill “can provide the judge with additional discretion so that they can require community service instead of a fine, I think that’s helpful,” he said.

Advocates such as Brytni K-Aloha don’t want discretion; they want to replace fines with community service. K-Aloha’s brother went to prison when he was 19, and she brought her daughter, Aubree, to visit him in prison when she was a child. Now mother and daughter are working with ‘Ekolu Mea Nui, a nonprofit founded by their family to incorporate Native Hawaiian cultural values into the state’s justice system. The group is among those pressing for lawmakers to act. 

Proponents argue that emphasizing community service, particularly programs rooted in Native Hawaiian traditions, is more effective and less harmful than imposing fines.

“There’s a better way,” Aubree K-Aloha said, “for them to get help and for them to heal and for them to find themselves, and for them to give back to the community, rather than hurting them some more.”

Lawmakers from both chambers must work out their differences on the bill in conference committee for it to advance, but the bill hasn’t been scheduled yet. The session is set to adjourn on May 2.