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KRYSTLE MARCELLUS / KMARCELLUS@STARADVERTISER.COM
Firecrackers were for sale — to those with permits — Monday at Bo Wah Trading Co. in Chinatown.
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A long-stalled bill that would allow Oahu revelers to once again set off sparklers and fountains on New Year’s Eve and Independence Day is back in play.
Bill 5 (2014) is scheduled to be heard by the City Council’s Executive Matters and Legal Affairs Committee at its meeting Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. It was last heard by what was the Council Public Safety and Economic Development Committee in June 2014, when it was deferred.
Council members Ikaika Anderson and Ann Kobayashi co-introduced the bill in January 2014, arguing that the existing fireworks prohibition adopted in 2012 was too draconian and that sparklers and fountains are a unique part of Hawaii’s cultural heritage.
The law bars sparklers and fountains but allows up to 5,000 firecrackers to be purchased by adults holding a $25 city permit. There is no limit on the number of permits that can be purchased.
Bill 5 would add 30 sparklers and/or fountains among the items that could be purchased under the permit.
Both the Honolulu Fire and Police departments have consistently called for an all-out ban, as have several health organizations.