Committee debates bill to remove jaywalking fines tied to countdown timers

A Senate transportation committee hearing on March 17 produced a close look at HB1523, a proposal to change the statewide traffic code so that pedestrians who step into a crosswalk after a countdown timer begins would no longer face a citable violation.

Malia Bockzanski of Hawaii Appleseed told the committee the bill “does not change the existence of countdown timers. It really just removes, that restriction as a citable violation.” She argued the current $130 fine imposes “a significant financial burden for some of our residents who are simply trying to navigate our community.”

Committee members pressed witnesses on the bill’s practical effect. The chair and several senators asked whether removing the statutory language would require removing countdown devices or only affect enforcement. Bockzanski said the intent is enforcement-focused: “We have countdown timers at our intersections before that went into our statewide traffic code in 2019. So for us, it’s not an infrastructure change. It’s really just if people believe that they have enough time to cross the street safely within that countdown timer time, they can go ahead.”

Robin Shishido of the Department of Transportation said DOT stood by written testimony opposing the measure because deleting the statutory reference could create uncertainty. “From the bill, we weren’t sure either,” she said, describing how removing the statutory language might be read as requiring equipment changes or would require laborious retiming of many signal controllers across state and county jurisdictions.

Members discussed alternatives including stronger public education, retiming signals, and leading pedestrian intervals. Bockzanski cited an analysis by Hawaii Appleseed finding that citations grouped as jaywalking or crossing on the countdown made up about 46% of jaywalking citations from 2018–2023, a figure she offered to the committee as context for enforcement concerns.

Jonathan Lott, a Waikiki resident, urged the committee to address the size of the fine and noted he had rarely seen jaywalking citations in practice. Other public witnesses, including Department of Health and public-health advocates, supported reducing penalties or clarifying the law to reduce barriers to walking.

At decision-making, the committee endorsed a recommendation to pass HB1523 (HD1) and forward report language raising concerns to Judiciary so the receiving committee can consider the enforcement and implementation issues raised in testimony. The measure advanced with committee comments and no substantive vote tally naming dissenters was recorded in the hearing transcript.

The committee’s next step is the Judiciary committee review, where members asked staff to include the technical and enforcement concerns raised in today’s hearing.