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City Council members today introduced a proposal to “reopen” the city’s fireworks law to address storage issues raised in a recent lawsuit.
American Promotional Events, Inc. — Northwest, a fireworks import and wholesale company that does business as TNT Fireworks, filed for an injunction last week. The company says it stands to lose $800,000 worth of fireworks in its warehouse near Honolulu Airport intended for sale on the neighbor islands, where they are still legal.
TNT says it invested more than $750,000 to improve its Oahu warehouse for storage because it has found unsuitable storage facilities on neighbor islands.
But under the city’s fireworks ban that took effect this year, importing and storing fireworks, except for firecrackers, is illegal on Oahu.
Bill 38, introduced by Councilman Stanley Chang, aims to correct that issue. The bill was referred to the Executive Matters and Legal Affairs Committee.
TNT’s licenses for importing, wholesaling and storing consumer fireworks expired March 31.
It applied for new licenses on March 16, but the city has not yet reissued them and said it cannot guarantee that the company will not face criminal and civil penalties while officials deliberate on the applications.
