Haw. Rev. Stat. § 708-836: Unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle in the first degree.

(1) A person commits the offense of unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle in the first degree if the person intentionally or knowingly exerts unauthorized control over another's propelled vehicle by operating the propelled vehicle without the owner's consent or by changing the identity of the propelled vehicle without the owner's consent.

(2) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution under this section that the defendant:

(a) Received authorization to use the propelled vehicle from an agent of the owner where the agent had actual or apparent authority to authorize the use;

(b) Is a lien holder or legal owner of the propelled vehicle, or an authorized agent of the lien holder or legal owner, engaged in the lawful repossession of the propelled vehicle; or

(c) Purchased the vehicle and reasonably believed oneself to be the actual owner of the vehicle.

(3) For the purposes of this section:

"Owner" means the registered owner of the propelled vehicle or the unrecorded owner of the propelled vehicle pending transfer of ownership; provided that if there is no registered owner of the propelled vehicle or unrecorded owner of the propelled vehicle pending transfer of ownership, "owner" means the legal owner.

"Propelled vehicle" means an automobile, airplane, motorcycle, motorboat, or other motor-propelled vehicle.

(4) Unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle in the first degree is a class C felony. [L 1972, c 9, pt of §1; am L 1974, c 38, §1; gen ch 1993; am L 1996, c 195, §2; am L 1999, c 11, §1; am L 2001, c 87, §2; am L 2021, c 6, §3; am L 2022, c 53, §2]

COMMENTARY ON §708-836

[Section 708-836 was amended by Act 38, Session Laws 1974. See Supplemental Commentary on §708-836. The Commentary below was based on the original version in the Proposed Draft.]

This section is intended to deal with the special case of "joy riding," where the vehicle is returned in undamaged condition, and the temporary borrowing is just for the pleasure (or convenience) of operating the vehicle. The offense is a relatively mild one, and, as it is generally committed by youngsters, the penalty is set at the misdemeanor level. Note that the unauthorized control over the vehicle must be operation of the vehicle: the use of the vehicle as a shelter, for example, ought not to come within the prohibition of this section.[1] The prevalence of "joy riding" predominantly relates to motor-propelled vehicles, and the Code limits this special offense of misappropriation to such property. The misdemeanor sanction is felt too severe to apply to other forms of unauthorized use of personal property unless other aggravating attendant circumstances are present.

The affirmative defense allowed under subsection (3) is felt necessary to "exempt from criminal liability a good deal of informal borrowing of automobiles by members of the same household or friends of the owner."[2]