The Hawaiʻi Senate Committee on Public Safety & Military Affairs has recommended passage of Senate Bill 222, which would appropriate an as yet undetermined amount of state funding for an illegal fireworks task force.
The committee’s unanimous action on Wednesday came as a sixth person, a 30-year-old woman, was confirmed to have died from injuries suffered in a New Year’s fireworks explosion in the Salt Lake area of Honolulu. The massive explosion at a residence initially killed three adults and left more than 20 people in critical or serious medical condition.
A companion bill, House Bill 508, has passed first reading and been referred to the House Finance; and Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs committees. No public hearing had been scheduled for the bill as of Thursday afternoon.
Most of the written testimony on Senate Bill 222 supported the funding for the task force, its operations and hiring of administrative support staff. Money also would cover reimbursements to law enforcement agencies for personnel, overtime, fuel, equipment and storage and disposal of confiscated fireworks.
According to the state Department of Law Enforcement, the Illegal Fireworks Task Force has successfully removed more than 200,000 pounds of illegal fireworks from Hawaiʻi’s streets, with operations and investigations continuing to progress. The bill would extend the sunset clause for the task force from June 30, 2025, to June 30, 2030, which the department said “is critical to maintain this momentum and ensure the long-term effectiveness of the Task Force’s mission.”
Abbra Green, executive secretary of Libertarian Party of Hawaiʻi, submitted testimony in strong opposition to “any prohibitions and enforcement measures targeting fireworks.”
“We believe Hawaiians have the right to pursue and engage in any activities that bring them joy and fulfillment,” Green said. “Fireworks prohibitions and regulations infringe upon the freedom of our citizens to partake in this time-honored custom, diminishing the spirit of celebration and unity that fireworks bring.”
Strict enforcement measures to crack down on fireworks use “would only serve to burden law enforcement resources, and diverted needed attention away from more pressing issues,” Green said. “Prohibitions and heavy enforcement will lead to unnecessary conflict between police and citizens, eroding trust and creating an atmosphere of fear and animosity. Causing harm against another person is already illegal, and crimes can already be prosecuted without these new tyrannical enforcement measures.”
Beverly Heiser said: “The Aliamanu tragedy was sad, and it is hopeful that the lives lost and those suffering from life-changing critical injuries were not in vain but will provide the wake-up call to take the use of illegal fireworks seriously. This all starts with legislators creating laws to invoke stiffer penalties and higher fines, and it allows enforcement to the fullest extent of the law to instill a fear of getting caught and induce deterrence.”
While effectiveness of the measure might require more funding in the future, “how do you put a price on lives lost, life-changing deformities and psychological issues that may require medical attention for the rest of one’s life? Yes, enough is enough,” Heiser said.
Bronson Teixeira said the funding measure would be a “waste of taxpayer dollars” and not stop illegal aerial fireworks.
Voting in favor of the bill were committee Chair Brandon Elefante and Vice Chair Glenn Wakai, with Sens. Carol Fukunaga and Karl Rhoads, all of Oʻahu. One dissenting vote came from Sen. Samantha DeCorte of West Oʻahu.
By an identical vote, the Public Safety & Military Affairs also recommended approval of Senate Bill 227. It would establish an Illegal Fireworks Enforcement Division within the Department of Law Enforcement and provide an as yet unspecified amount of funding for the division.
Public testimony submitted on the bill was similarly for and against the measure.
The committee deferred action on Senate Bill 476, which would increase fines for fireworks violations from the current $500 to $5,000 per offense.
A 2011 report from the Illegal Fireworks Task Force to the Legislature said an increase in fines associated with illegal fireworks may act as a stronger deterrent.
Written public testimony on Senate Bill 476 was mostly in favor, with opposition coming from the Libertarian Party of Hawaiʻi and others protesting government infringement on personal freedoms.
The committee was unanimously in support of passage of Senate Bill 1226, which would establish a Shipping Container Inspection Program to ferret out illegal fireworks being smuggled into Hawaiʻi.
The bill proposes spending $750,000 in fiscal 2025-2026 and the same amount, again, in fiscal 2026-2027 to administer the program and purchase at least two fireworks- or explosive-sniffing dogs.
That bill was introduced by Sens. Karl Rhoads, Henry Aquino, Stanley Chang, Brandon Elefante, Mike Gabbard, Michelle Kidani, Angus McKelvey, Herbert Richards III, Carol Fukunaga, Jarrett Keohokalole, Sharon Moriwaki, Joy San Buenaventura and Glenn Wakai.