State measures target illegal fireworks

Several bills introduced in the state Legislature intend to crack down on illegal fireworks.

The bills would do various things to combat the problem, including the creation of a fireworks task force, adding new ways to search shipping containers, and purchasing drones to potentially catch people igniting illegal aerials.

“I get a ton of calls and emails, especially right after New Years Eve, from constituents who are gravely concerned about smoke, the impact it has on their pets, loud sounds, and safety issues,” said state Sen. Brandon Elefante, an Oahu Democrat who introduced several firework-related bills this legislative session.

The House introduced 10 bills while the Senate introduced 11, but previous sessions of the Legislature have struggled to get any major changes related to fireworks enforcement approved.

“I just want to see some actions taken to stop this illegal importation and the smuggling that is happening at the ports,” said Rep. David Tarnas, a Big Island Democrat and chair of the Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs committee.

The committee passed House Bill 809 with amendments on Thursday, which would establish funding for a shipping container inspection program that would begin Dec. 1.

“That’s where they’re coming in,” said Tarnas of the ports receiving shipping containers. “As to how they’ll actually go about it, I’ll leave that to the experts, and if the Senate has some good ideas.”

The U.S. Coast Guard reported in 2022 that a 13,000-pound shipment in Honolulu contained an estimated $2.7 million worth of fireworks.

“We made some amendments to the bill, making sure that there wouldn’t be any delays for goods being shipped in,” said Tarnas. “It’s basically making sure that they can continue shipping. They can move the container to a place for the inspection at the port — whatever they need to do.”

The bill will advance to the Consumer Protection and Commerce committee for review.

Other shipping-related bills include HB 216 and its companion, SB 498, which would create a special fund for the shipping container inspection program and push for the use of explosive-sniffing dogs to help search containers. The canines are estimated to cost somewhere between $70,000 and $80,000 annually, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Another House bill would allow the Department of Public Safety to use X-ray scanning technology to search containers, and for the state Department of Transportation to impose shipping container import fees and increase fines and punishments for violations.

The Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs committee opted to defer several firework bills, however, including one that sought to establish a fireworks task force within the Department of Law Enforcement that was a part of Gov. Josh Green’s legislative package, and another that would have imposed a statewide limitation on consumer fireworks except by permit for cultural events.

“We don’t want to have another task force and talk about it, and we don’t want to make the legal fireworks illegal,” said Tarnas. “We want to allow people to celebrate the Fourth of July and New Year’s (celebrations) with permits safely, but also stop the illegal importation of these fireworks.”

Current fines can be up to $2,000 for individuals, but one bill would increase fines to $5,000 for those using illegal fireworks between the hours of 9 p.m. and 9 a.m.

Perhaps the most innovative bill comes from the Senate and would direct funding to the Department of Law Enforcement to purchase and implement drone technology to crack down on illegal aerial fireworks.

The Honolulu Police Department submitted testimony citing concerns about the bill and Federal Aviation Administration guidelines that prohibit drones near fireworks.

“The use of drones operated by the police to monitor and collect evidence against a person illegally deploying fireworks will be problematic without a search warrant,” the testimony stated. “In addition, a drone flying and hovering over homes and people where fireworks are being deployed presents a danger for it to ignite and fall, causing property damage and/or serious injuries to the community below the flight path.”

Despite the concerns, the Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs committee approved the bill on Thursday, moving it to the Committee on Ways and Means for review.

“Drones are one area to look at for enforcement when some of these illegal aerials are going off,” Elefante said. “But we’ll see where it goes when it heads to the Committee on Ways and Means next.”

An additional bill would allow fines from firework violations to go toward police departments and climate change causes via the creation of a Fireworks Possession Special Fund.

“It’s not going to solve the problem,” said Elefante of the two bills that moved forward in his committee. “But it can only help to have another tool in the toolbox with enforcement.”

Email Grant Phillips at gphillips@hawaiitribune-herald.com.