Legislator to resubmit fireworks measure

Following a New Year’s fireworks accident that killed a woman in Kapolei, state lawmakers will likely reconsider boosting inspections of the shipping containers that authorities say are used to smuggle in most of Oahu’s illegal pyrotechnics.

Those fireworks inspections, officials say, would be “daunting” due to the overwhelming volume of containers that move across Hawaii’s ports — more than 590,000 such movements in 2015. Further, workers trying to keep up with the state’s shipping traffic must hustle the containers out of cramped port space and make room for others coming in, according to a 2011 state task force report on illegal fireworks.

Nonetheless, state Sen. Will Espero (D, Ewa Beach- Iroquois Point) said Tuesday that he’ll reintroduce a bill this year that would have state sheriff’s officers and explosives-sniffing dogs randomly inspect those containers. It stalled in the Senate’s transportation committee last year.

“This has been an issue that I’ve worked on for a while, and it’s never gotten any traction,” said Espero, adding that his district experienced “intense” illegal aerial fireworks displays this year.

The Honolulu Police Department reported seizing some 9,700 pounds of aerial fireworks this holiday season. Tons more consumer fireworks, which have been illegal on Oahu since 2011, lit up the night sky across the island to ring in 2017.

One woman, 38-year-old Liona Spencer, died Sunday after suffering what police described as “flash-related burn injuries” in a fireworks accident. Police say they’re still investigating.

“Maybe that could bring a little more attention to the problem,” Espero said.

The measure that he introduced last year, Senate Bill 2632, would have charged shipping companies $1 per container to fund the fireworks inspection program in 2016 and $2 beginning later this year.

“Only a small fraction of these containers … are inspected by government agencies,” the bill stated. “The lack of sufficient cargo inspections means that there is ample opportunity for illegal fireworks and explosives to be smuggled into the State.”

Fire departments across the state testified in support of SB 2632. However, the state’s Department of Transportation, joined by shipping firm Young Brothers, testified that the bill’s inspections wouldn’t give enough time to keep the containers moving on schedule.

In a phone interview, Espero echoed the state’s 2011 Illegal Fireworks Task Force Report, which suggested instead inspecting containers at “freight-forwarder” locations after they’ve left the dock.

The state’s largest shipping company, Matson Inc., didn’t offer written testimony for Espero’s bill last year. In a statement Tuesday, Matson said it “has always worked closely with the State and other authorities to ensure that our operations meet or exceed regulations, and we want to continue to be part of any realistic solutions that improve safety in our community.”

Meanwhile, Honolulu police said they arrested seven men in December who allegedly tried to smuggle illegal aerial fireworks onto Oahu from Washington state.

Of the 9,700 pounds of aerials that HPD confiscated between Dec. 1 and Sunday, more than 6,700 pounds came from the Washington state bust, according to HPD Central Patrol Assistant Chief Alan Bluemke.

He said he was “surprised and concerned” about how many aerial fireworks exploded across Oahu to celebrate New Year’s.

“The department has always been in favor of a total ban because fireworks enforcement in general is just so difficult,” Bluemke added at a news conference Tuesday. “I’d like to think we’ve been fairly successful.” HPD issued 92 fireworks citations this year, he said.

The department also monitors social media outlets to help enforce the city’s ban, Bluemke said.

A spokesman for the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office said Tuesday that the agency has one 2016 fireworks case pending that’s more serious than a citation — and that it’s not the Washington state bust. He didn’t have details for any such cases prior to 2016 immediately available.