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Toney v. Fauhiva10/28/2005
tion are questions of law to be reviewed de novo under the right/wrong standard.
Our statutory construction is guided by the following well established principles:
[When construing a statute,] our foremost obligation is to ascertain and give effect to the intention of the legislature, which is to be obtained primarily from the language contained in the statute itself. And we must read statutory language in the context of the entire statute and construe it in a manner consistent with its purpose.
When there is doubt, doubleness of meaning, or indistinctiveness or uncertainty of an expression used in a statute, an ambiguity exists.
In construing an ambiguous statute, the meaning of the ambiguous words may be sought by examining the context, with which the ambiguous words, phrases, and sentences may be compared, in order to ascertain their true meaning. Moreover, the courts may resort to extrinsic aids in determining legislative intent. One avenue is the use of legislative history as an interpretive tool.
This court may also consider the reason and spirit of the law, and the cause which induced the legislature to enact it to discover its true meaning.
Lingle v. Hawaii Gov't Employees Ass'n, AFSCME, Local 152, 107 Hawaii 178, 183, 111 P.3d 587, 592 (2005) (internal quotation marks, brackets, and ellipses omitted) (quoting Guth v. Freeland, 96 Hawaii 147, 149-50, 28 P.3d 982, 984-95 (2001)).
RELEVANT STATUTES
The title of HRS Chapter 444 (1993 & Supp. 2002) is "CONTRACTORS". It states, in relevant part:
§ 444-2 Exemptions. This chapter shall not apply to:
(7) Owners or lessees of property who build or improve residential, farm, industrial, or commercial buildings or structures on property for their own use, or for use by their grandparents, parents, siblings, or children and who do not offer the buildings or structures for sale or lease; provided that this exemption shall not apply to electrical or plumbing work that must be performed only by persons or entities licensed under this chapter, or to the owner or lessee of the property if the owner or lessee is licensed under chapter 448E. In all actions brought under this paragraph, proof of the sale or lease, or offering for sale or lease, of the structure not more than one year after completion is prima facie evidence that the construction or improvement of the structure was undertaken for the purpose of sale or lease; provided that this provision shall not apply to residential properties sold or leased to employees of the owner or lessee; provided further that in order to qualify for this exemption the owner or lessee must register for the exemptions as provided in section 444-9.1. Any owner or lessee of property found to have violated this paragraph shall not be permitted to engage in any activities pursuant to this paragraph or to register under section 444-9.1 for a period of three years. There is a presumption that an owner or lessee has violated this section, when the owner or lessee obtains an exemption from the licensing requirements of section 444-9 more than once in two years[.]
§ 444-9 Licenses required. No person within the purview of this chapter shall act, or assume to act, or advertise, as general engineering contractor, general building contractor, or specialty contractor without a license previously obtained under and in compliance with this chapter and the rules and regulations of the contractors license board.
§ 444-9.1 Issuance of building permits; owner-builder registration. (a) Each county or other local subdivision of the State which requires the issuance of a permit as a condition p
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