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One of the bills that made it through the gauntlet of our legislative process is a reaction to a terrible and avoidable death. Sara Yara was a high school student in Honolulu. She was hit by a motorist in a crosswalk on Kapiolani Boulevard and died. News reports revealed that the motorist charged with negligently killing Yara had numerous prior traffic offenses — including driving without a license.

Her death enraged and mobilized the community. People have rightly asked how this could happen. And many have demanded that their elected officials do something to keep pedestrians safe.

That’s what prompted to move deftly through six committees, both chambers, and ultimately land on the governor’s desk. But the bill should be vetoed.

Let’s start with what it does not do. It does not appropriate funds to construct safer walkways around schools. It does not build barriers to prevent motorists from entering certain areas at certain times. It does not provide for better crosswalks, more speed humps or lighting to alert motorists about foot traffic.

It doesn’t even seem to do what its proponents want. Ward Village Moms, an organization that has rallied around the Yara family and demanded action from the government, urged the Legislature to find a way to get dangerous drivers off the road. In written testimony, the organization warned that “focusing solely on penalties for unlicensed and reckless drivers is not enough.”

But that’s all the bill seems to do: ramp up the seriousness of the crime known as driving without a license.

A first-time offense for driving without a license within a five-year period is still a petty misdemeanor. But after that the fines and exposure to jail increase. A second offense in the same period is a misdemeanor — exposing drivers to a fine from $500 to $1,000 and up to a year in jail.

A third offense for driving without a license becomes a felony offense subjecting the driver to five years imprisonment or four years of probation with up to one year in jail. It also means they are stripped of some of their civil rights. Their right to vote in other states is severely limited and they will have to forever disclose they are a felon.

The bill also subjects the vehicle they’re driving — whether it’s their own vehicle or someone else’s — to civil asset forfeiture, a draconian and antiquated procedure in itself. Even then, the forfeiture process is not instantaneous and is far from a fast way to get a driver off the road.

The bill was nevertheless supported by the Honolulu prosecutor’s office, the only law enforcement office that weighed in. Normally when there’s a newfangled criminal offense, the four county prosecutors, police departments and the attorney general submit testimony. Not this time. Their silence was noticeable.

Let me be clear: What happened to Sara Yara should have never happened. Pedestrians need to feel safe. Negligent driving — be it speeding, texting or drunken driving — is dangerous. And it’s already

But the bill doesn’t cut down on negligence or keep anyone safe. It just grinds down those who are already driving without a license. It targets the poor.

Here’s why: If you get cited for driving without a license or even other traffic offenses, you will probably be ordered to pay a fine and a court fee. If you don’t pay it, the debt goes to collections and stays there collecting interest. Rack up enough of them, and your license is suspended and now you’re an unlicensed driver.

Decades of neglected infrastructure, decentralized living and working spaces, and inadequate public transportation have made driving an essential part of American life — even in Hawaii. And people will continue to drive without a license every hour of every day. They run that risk to keep working, keep providing for their kids and keep trying to stay afloat in one of the country’s most expensive places to live.

The bill does nothing to help people get out of court debt and on the right side of the law. It doubles down and makes felons out of people who are already so deep into debt that getting a license is nearly impossible.

The bill doesn’t cut down on negligence or keep anyone safe. It just grinds down those who are already driving without a license. It targets the poor.

And yes, it’s true the law has always allowed drivers to petition courts to show that their failure to pay was not because they are a scofflaw, but because they’re just poor. Courts are supposed to examine a driver’s finances to see if they’re telling the truth and if the judge is satisfied that they are in fact poor, the fine can be revoked or converted to community service — a process reminiscent of what “a little investigation, humiliation, and if you cross your fingers, rehabilitation.”

Maybe this bill will trigger a rise in this seldom-used petition procedure and turn District Court judges into financial analysts.

Not only that, but expect more traffic coming to Circuit Court. If unlicensed driving is a felony offense, you can expect more drivers demanding jury trials. That’s heard in Circuit Courts before judges who are also trying murder, sexual assault and drug trafficking cases.

How many unlicensed drivers will it take to clog an already overwhelmed court system? How many cases will it take for judges and juries to get tired of hearing a traffic cop testify about how they stopped someone, asked for a license and found none? Riveting stuff.

But I might be looking at this all wrong. Perhaps this is a blessing in disguise, at least for court-appointed attorneys. While this bill made it through, that would have increased the hourly rate for such lawyers didn’t, even though it was widely supported by stakeholders in our criminal legal system.

So perhaps turning a nonviolent traffic crime into a felony offense is a consolation. Why should court-appointed attorneys stress over things like murder or robbery when they can just do a traffic case in front of a jury at the public’s expense? It will pay their bills, clog the courts and won’t make our roads any safer.

The governor has until June 25 to decide if he will veto the bill. Let’s hope he does and stops us from being the only state in the union that turns unlicensed drivers into felons.