§271-27  Unlawful operation.  (a)  Any

person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly violating any provision of this

chapter, or any rule, requirement, or order thereunder, or any term or

condition of any certificate or permit for which a penalty is not otherwise

provided, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.  In addition, any shipper or

consignee located in this State, or any officer, employee, agent, or

representative thereof, who intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly engages the

services of any person violating any provision of this chapter, or any rule,

requirement, or order, or any term or condition of any certificate or permit

for which a penalty is not otherwise provided, shall be guilty of a

misdemeanor.

     (b)  Any person, whether carrier, shipper, or

consignee, or any officer, employee, agent, or representative thereof, who

intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly offers, grants, or gives, or solicits,

accepts, or receives any rebate, concession, or discrimination in violation of

any provisions of this chapter, or who by means of any false statement or

representation or by the use of any false or fictitious bill, bill of lading,

receipt, voucher, roll, account, claim, certificate, affidavit, deposition,

lease, or bill of sale, or by any other means or device, intentionally,

knowingly, or recklessly assists, suffers, or permits any person or persons,

natural or artificial, to obtain transportation of passengers or property

subject to this chapter for less than the applicable rate, fare, or charge, or

who intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly by any such means or otherwise

fraudulently seeks to evade or defeat regulation as in this chapter provided

for motor carriers, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.

     (c)  Any special agent, accountant, or examiner

who knowingly and wilfully divulges any fact or information which may come to

the special agent's, accountant's, or examiner's knowledge during the course of

any examination or inspection made under authority of sections 271-9(a)(4),

271-23, and 271-25, except as the special agent, accountant, or examiner may be

directed by the commission or by a court or judge thereof, shall be guilty of a

misdemeanor.

     (d)  It shall be unlawful for any motor carrier

or any officer, receiver, trustee, lessee, agent, or employee of the carrier,

or for any other person authorized by such carrier or person to receive

information, knowingly to disclose to, or permit to be acquired by any person

other than the shipper or consignee without the consent of the shipper or consignee,

any information concerning the nature, kind, quantity, destination, consignee,

or routing of any property tendered or delivered to the motor carrier for

transportation, which information may be used to the detriment or prejudice of

the shipper or consignee, or which may improperly disclose the shipper's or

consignee's business transactions to a competitor; and it shall also be

unlawful for any person to solicit or knowingly receive any such information

which may be so used.

     (e)  Nothing in this chapter shall be construed

to prevent the giving of such information in response to any legal process

issued under the authority of any court, or to any officer or agent of the

government of the United States or of any state or of any political subdivision

of any state, in the exercise of the officer's or agent's power or to any

officer or other duly authorized person seeking the information for the

prosecution of persons charged with or suspected of crimes or to another

carrier, or its duly authorized agents, for the purpose of adjusting mutual

traffic accounts in the ordinary course of business of the carriers.

     (f)  Any motor carrier or any officer, agent,

employee, or representative thereof, who wilfully fails or refuses to make a

report to the commission as required by this chapter, or to make specific and

full, true, and correct answer to any question within thirty days from the time

it is lawfully required by the commission, or to keep accounts, records, and

memoranda in the form and manner prescribed by the commission, or knowingly and

wilfully falsifies, destroys, mutilates, or alters any report, account, record,

or memorandum or knowingly and wilfully files with the commission any false

report, account, record, or memorandum, or knowingly and wilfully neglects or

fails to make full, true, and correct entries in the accounts, records, or

memoranda of all facts and transactions appertaining to the business of the

carrier, or person required under this chapter to keep the same, or knowingly

and wilfully keeps accounts, records, or memoranda contrary to the rules,

regulations, or orders of the commission with respect thereto, shall be deemed

guilty of a misdemeanor.  As used in this subsection, the words

"keep" and "kept" mean made, prepared, or compiled, as well

as retained.

     (g)  Except when required by state law to take

immediately before a district judge a person arrested for violation of this

chapter, including any rule adopted pursuant to this chapter, any enforcement

officer, other than a motor vehicle safety officer employed and assigned,

pursuant to section 271-38, by the department of transportation to assess civil

penalties, upon arresting a person for violation of this chapter, including any

rule adopted pursuant to this chapter shall issue to the alleged violator a

summons or citation printed in the form hereinafter described, warning the

alleged violator to appear and answer to the charge against the alleged

violator at a certain place within seven days after the arrest.

     (1)  The summons or citation shall be printed in a

form comparable to that of other summonses and citations used for arresting

offenders and shall include all necessary information.  The form and content

shall be adopted or prescribed by the district courts.

     (2)  The original of a summons or citation shall be

given to the alleged violator and any other copies distributed in the manner

prescribed by the district courts; provided that the district courts may

prescribe alternative methods of distribution for the original and any other

copies.

     (3)  Summonses and citations shall be consecutively

numbered and any other copies of each shall bear the same number.

     (4)  Any person who fails to appear at the place and

within the time specified in the summons or citation shall be guilty of a

misdemeanor.

     (5)  If any person fails to comply with a summons or

citation or fails or refuses to deposit bail as required, the enforcement

officer shall cause a complaint to be entered against the person and secure the

issuance of a warrant for the person's arrest.

     (6)  When a complaint is made to any prosecuting

officer of a violation of this chapter or any rule, the enforcement officer who

issued the summons or citation shall subscribe to it under oath administered by

another official whose name has been submitted to the prosecuting officer and

who has been designated by the commission to administer the same.

     (h)  Any motor carrier or lessor, or any

officer, agent, employee, or representative thereof, who fails or refuses to

comply with any provision of this chapter, or any rule, requirement, or order

thereunder, and any person located in this State, or any officer, agent,

employee, or representative of any such person, who engages the services of any

motor carrier or lessor, or any officer, agent, employee, or representative

thereof, who fails or refuses to comply with any provision of this chapter, or

any rule, requirement, or order, may be assessed a civil penalty payable to the

State in a sum:

     (1)  Up to $1,000 for each offense; and

     (2)  In the case of a continuing violation, not less

than $50 and not more than $500 for each additional day during which the

failure or refusal continues.

     (i)  Notwithstanding subsection (h), a motor

carrier who fails to file, within the prescribed time, a financial report with

the commission pursuant to its rules may be assessed a civil penalty payable to

the State up to the sum of one-sixteenth of one per cent of the gross revenues

from the motor carrier's business during the preceding calendar year, if the

failure is for not more than one month, with an additional one-sixteenth of one

per cent for each additional month or fraction thereof during which the failure

continues, but in no event shall the total civil penalty be less than the sum

of $50.

     (j) In addition to any other remedy available,

the commission or its enforcement officer, including a motor vehicle safety

officer employed and assigned by the department of transportation pursuant to

section 271-38, may issue citations to persons acting in the capacity of or

engaging in the business of a motor carrier within this State, without having a

certificate of public convenience and necessity or other authority previously

obtained under and in compliance with this chapter and rules adopted, or to any

shipper or consignee located in this State, or any officer, employee, agent, or

representative thereof who engages the services of those persons.

     (1)  The citation may contain an order of abatement

and an assessment of civil penalties as provided in subsection (h).  All

penalties collected under this subsection shall be deposited in the treasury of

the State.  Service of a citation issued under this subsection shall be made by

personal service whenever possible or by certified mail, restricted delivery,

sent to the last known business or residence address of the person cited.

     (2)  Any person served with a citation under this

subsection may submit a written request to the commission for a hearing within

twenty days from the receipt of the citation, with respect to the violations

alleged, the scope of the order of abatement, and the amount of civil penalties

assessed.  If the person cited under this subsection notifies the commission of

the request for a hearing in time, the commission shall afford the person an

opportunity for a hearing under chapter 91.  The hearing shall be conducted by

the commission, or the commission may designate a hearings officer to hold the

hearing.

     (3)  If the person cited under this subsection does

not submit a written request to the commission for a hearing in time, the

citation shall be deemed a final order of the commission.  The commission may

apply to the appropriate court for a judgment to enforce the provisions of any

final order issued by the commission or designated hearings officer pursuant to

this subsection, including the provisions for abatement and civil penalties

imposed.  In any proceeding to enforce the final order, the commission need

only produce a certified copy of the final order and show that the notice was

given and that a hearing was held or the time granted for requesting the

hearing has run without a request.

     (4)  If any party is aggrieved by the decision of the

commission or the designated hearings officer, the party may appeal, subject to

chapter 602, in the manner provided for civil appeals from the circuit courts;

provided that the operation of an abatement order shall not be stayed on appeal

unless specifically ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction after applying

the stay criteria enumerated in section 91-14(c).  The sanctions and

disposition authorized under this subsection shall be separate and in addition

to all other remedies either civil or criminal provided by law.  The commission

may adopt any rules under chapter 91 that may be necessary to fully effectuate

this subsection. [L 1961, c 121, pt of §2; Supp, §106C-25; HRS §271-27; am L

1969, c 220, §1; am L 1975, c 18, §1; am L 1979, c 41, §1; am L 1982, c 204,

§8; am L 1983, c 124, §17; gen ch 1985; am L 1991, c 57, §14; am L 1995, c 101,

§1 and c 105, §§5, 7; am L 1996, c 102, §1; am L 1997, c 120, §§3 to 6; am L

1998, c 91, §1; am L 2000, c 41, §1; am L 2004, c 202, §30; am L 2006, c 94,

§1; am L 2010, c 109, §1; am L 2012, c 205, §2]