Hawaii lawmakers seek tougher fireworks enforcement, but no statewide ban
State senators declined to move forward with a statewide ban on all fireworks on Monday, and instead are working to significantly strengthen law enforcement’s ability to investigate and prosecute fireworks cases.
Within the last week, measures to increase fireworks penalties, boost funding for investigations and allow for the random inspection of containers at the ports have all cleared their initial hurdles in the Senate.
Together, the measures represent the most significant steps to crack down on illegal fireworks that legislators have taken in more than two decades. Over those years, a series of reports outlined steps that lawmakers, law enforcement agencies and prosecutors could take to curtail fireworks in Hawaiʻi, but those recommendations were rarely acted on.
The moves this week in the Senate show how dramatically the politics of policing fireworks changed after an explosion at a neighborhood fireworks display on New Year’s Eve left six dead. Police have so far made 10 arrests. The incident gave lawmakers a new sense of urgency.
“I feel like we should have done more in the past,” said Sen. Brandon Elefante, chairman of the committee primarily responsible for advancing fireworks bills this year.
Aerial fireworks have been illegal in Hawaiʻi since 2000, and most consumer fireworks except for firecrackers have been outlawed on Oʻahu since 2011.
Elefante said that he and other senators are focused this session on giving law enforcement officials the tools they need to pursue fireworks-related cases.
Gov. Josh Green’s administration has also proposed rewriting fireworks laws to make it easier for prosecutors to bring criminal cases and enhancing penalties for offenders.
The most significant part of the governor’s proposal under Senate Bill 1324 changes various fireworks-related definitions in the state’s laws. For example, the current definition of an “aerial device” is a firework with 130 milligrams or less of explosive material that, when ignited, produces an audible or visible effect.
Law enforcement officials said that definition requires forensic testing and the testimony of expert witnesses to prove a crime occurred. And that’s assuming there’s anything left of the device to test.
It’s particularly a problem “if the firework has already gone up. There’s no evidence to collect,” Deputy Attorney General Tricia Nakamatsu told lawmakers.
Under the proposed changes, an aerial device would be defined as anything that shoots at least 12 feet into the air and explodes or emits fireballs. The Attorney General’s Office said the bill creates “common sense” standards that most people would be able to testify about in court if called upon.
The bill also increases penalties for some fireworks violations. Under the current law, throwing a firework out of a moving car is treated the same as igniting one outside of designated times. Both could only be punished with a fine of up to $5,000.
SB 1324 would create higher penalties for more dangerous acts and raise penalties up to a class C felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.
Honolulu City Councilmembers are also considering stricter penalties for people who have illegal aerials on Oʻahu. Their Bill 7 would make possession of 25 pounds or more of aerial devices a class C felony, punishably by up to five years in prison. It is scheduled for its first committee hearing on Thursday.
The state measure under consideration would also allow prosecutors to pursue civil fines in addition to criminal charges. However, that provision drew opposition from the state Office of the Public Defender. Indigent defendants who can’t afford an attorney would be assigned a public defender in a criminal case, but would not get representation in a civil case.
“We believe that’s frankly unconstitutional,” said Sonny Ganaden, a deputy public defender.
The office instead supported lawmakers’ other efforts to fund initiatives aimed at cracking down on illegal aerials.
More Resources For Officers
Lawmakers appear keen to funnel more resources to state law enforcement to stem the flow of illegal fireworks into the state.
Senate Bill 1226, which also cleared its first round of committee hearings last week, would institute a container inspection program at harbors in Hawaiʻi.
Under the current draft of the bill, the law enforcement department would have discretion over which containers to inspect. Once a container is selected, it would be sequestered from the rest of the port to avoid disrupting the normal flow of container goods carrying essential items to store shelves.
Senators made that change in part because harbor users and shipping companies had objected to past container inspection proposals.
The proposed new inspection program would utilize dogs who can smell fireworks within closed containers. In cases where the explosives are hidden at the back of a container, the dogs could detect the scent once the doors are opened.
Senators have asked for $750,000 for the program, but the department said that may not be enough. Two more dogs alone could cost more than $600,000, and more costs are expected.
Law Enforcement Director Mike Lambert told lawmakers that the state currently spends at least $1 million every time it needs to ship a full container of confiscated fireworks to the mainland for disposal. He asked them to pass those costs on to the fireworks importers and intended in-state recipients.
Lawmakers are proposing additional funding for the law enforcement department to create a new explosives unit and continue a task force that has already seized more than 220,000 pounds of illegal fireworks in the last two years.
Lambert said that he eventually wants the task force and explosives unit to take up gun violence investigations and envisions its future as a state-level version of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“As the issues switch throughout the state, we’d have the latitude to move between fireworks and firearms,” Lambert said.
Russell Fong, the department’s finance officer, said that the new unit would cost about $5 million in its first year of operation and $3.2 million in its second. The unit would be staffed with eight investigators and one clerk. Included in those first-year costs are $2.1 million for an explosives testing lab.
Consumer Fireworks Survive
On Monday, state Senators gave preliminary approval to a measure, Senate Bill 999, that would increase fines for minor fireworks offenses and divert funds from fireworks penalties to the state’s general fund.
However, language to outlaw the fountains, sparklers and firecrackers that are currently permitted on Hawaiian islands except for Oʻahu was struck from the bill.
The Honolulu Police Department and the state Department of Law Enforcement supported the ban, saying it might deter fireworks users. But the bill was opposed by retailers who say the ban would impact small businesses that sell fireworks around the holiday season.
James Fuller, who represents the pyrotechnic industry, said that fireworks producers and retailers support a crackdown on illegal aerials and measures to increase resources for law enforcement. But the original draft of SB 999 went too far.
“We’ve go to get illegal fireworks off the streets,” Fuller told Civil Beat. “Banning all fireworks … does not represent a fix to that challenge.”
Consumer fireworks give people an alternative to popping aerials, and don’t carry the same risks of fire or the noise that disturbs people and their pets on New Year’s, Fuller said.
He encouraged Hawaiʻi officials to instead pursue educational campaigns that remind fireworks enthusiasts to keep sources of water nearby, to not light fireworks near flammable structures and to keep the audience at a safe distance.
Elefante, chairman of the Senate Public Safety and Military Affairs Committee, said he proposed changes to the bill after hearing concerns about the original draft from other senators.
At the hearing Monday, the public safety committee voted to remove language from SB 999 regarding an outright ban on all fireworks. Senators also included provisions for a new community safety program, which would be run by county police departments.
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This story was originally published by Honolulu Civil Beat and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.