Bill would raise scrutiny level for fireworks

In response to Hawaii’s annual illegal pyrotechnic displays, two joint House committees moved a bill Wednesday that would raise $300,000 in new fees on shipping containers to create a security program to clamp down on illegal fireworks arriving in the islands for the Fourth of July, New Year’s and Chinese New Year celebrations.

House Bill 1810 would require state sheriff’s deputies — accompanied by explosive-sniffing dogs — to randomly inspect incoming containers in a new “container inspection program.” The program would be funded through a new $1 charge on the estimated 300,000 containers that arrive in Hawaii annually from the mainland.

The idea for sheriff’s deputies to inspect containers on the waterfront was met with logistical and constitutional concerns Wednesday from groups including shippers and the state Attorney General’s office.

But representatives for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union said its members open up 15 to 30 containers every day over the holidays in a “safe zone” at Honolulu Harbor to inspect incoming Christmas trees for invasive pests.

HB 1810 moved out of the joint House Committee on Transportation and House Committee on Public Safety, Veterans and Military Affairs with several amendments.

“There’s much work to be done on this bill,” said Rep. Gregg Takayama, chairman of the Committee on Public Safety, Veterans and Military Affairs.

The bill was opposed only by state Rep. Dale Kobayashi (D, Manoa-Punahou-Moiliili), who said: “Logistical issues make this just not practical.”

He said constituents in his district are more concerned about burglaries and violent crimes. “They seem to be a priority for the community,” Kobayashi said. “I represent a lot more than, really, our holiday traditions being a concern.”

In the first weeks of last December, the Honolulu Police Department reported more than 500 complaints about fireworks, according to HB 1810, which added, “The Legislature also finds that since 2011, fireworks-related complaints have increased in all counties.”

An illegal fireworks task force created in 2010 recommended increasing random inspections for illegal fireworks “by expanding inspection authority and focusing on cargo inspections to make the inspections more manageable,” according to the bill.