Panel backs one-day sentencing cap change aimed at reducing immigration consequences

The committee approved House Bill 1548, which would reduce the statutory maximum term for misdemeanors from a calendar year (365 days) to 364 days. Testimony from the Office of the Public Defender, the Legal Clinic, the William S. Richardson School of Law clinic, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs described the change as a targeted technical fix to avoid unintended immigration consequences for convictions that remain misdemeanors under Hawaii law.

Haley Chang (Office of the Public Defender) explained that under federal immigration law, removability and some bars to relief can hinge on whether an offense carries a possible sentence of one year or more. "That 1 day difference, 365 days versus 364, can determine whether someone is placed in mandatory deportation proceedings and barred from seeking relief," said a representative of the law clinic in testimony shared with the committee. Witnesses emphasized that the bill does not change criminal definitions or remove penalties; it only alters the maximum sentence to avoid automatically triggering certain immigration consequences.

Committee members asked how often judges impose maximum misdemeanor sentences; witnesses said judges rarely hand down a full year for typical first‑time misdemeanors but that the statutory maximum matters because of immigration rules. The committee recorded its recommendation to move HB 1548 forward with a defective effective date and minor technical amendments.