New laws for 2022 — most taking effect today — are designed to clamp down on shark killings, prevent top state officials from lobbying soon after leaving government service, restrict unregistered “ghost guns,” clarify state laws regarding electric stun guns and require disclosure of real estate for sale in areas susceptible to sea-level rise.

Act 51 makes it a misdemeanor to kill or entangle any shark — whether dead or alive — within state waters.

Penalties are severe: $500 for a first offense, $2,000 for a second offense and $10,000 for a third or subsequent offense.

Additional penalties could include a civil fine not exceeding $10,000 per offense and an administrative fine of no more than $10,000 for each shark; seizure and forfeiture of commercial marine licenses, vessels and fishing equipment; and attorneys’ fees and costs.

In writing House Bill 553, HD 2, SD 2, CD 1, legislators noted that “sharks, known as mano in the Hawaiian language, are extremely important to ocean ecosystems. As ocean predators near the top of the food chain, sharks keep the ecosystem balanced, regulate populations of other marine life, and ensure healthy fish stock and reefs.”

In justifying the ban on intentional shark killing, the legislation cited numerous incidents in which young sharks, such as hammerhead shark pups, died from entanglement in gill nets set in shark nursery habitats.

The law does not criminalize the accidental capture and release of sharks that might be caught while fishing for other species allowed by statute.

‘Ghost guns’

So-called ghost guns — firearms assembled from kits bought online and that don’t carry serial numbers — have become an increasing concern for law enforcement across the country. Act 149 makes it a Class C felony to manufacture, purchase, obtain or possess parts to assemble the weapons.

HB 1366, HD 1, also makes it illegal to produce ghost guns through use of a 3-D printer.

Stun guns

Act 183 regulates the sale and use of electric guns, commonly known as stun guns or by the popular Taser brand, and repeals the existing prohibition on the devices.

Officials have said the new law, originated in HB 891, HD 2, SD 2, CD 1, was necessitated by a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision in a Massachusetts case that raised constitutional questions about Hawaii’s ban on electric guns.

The law makes it a misdemeanor to sell, distribute or transfer an electric gun and electric gun cartridge to anyone under the age of 21 and subjects sellers to a long list of requirements.

The new law specifically permits use of electric guns for self-defense or defense of someone else and to protect property, but there are several restrictions on who can posses or use the weapons, such as individuals under a restraining order and those who have been treated for mental health or substance abuse issues.

Violations of other components of Act 183 carry Class C and Class B felony penalties.

Paid lobbyists

In the public interest of keeping “a distinct wall of separation between lobbyists and the state’s elected officials and certain other government employees,” the Legislature passed HB 671, HD 2, SD 2, which Gov. David Ige signed into law as Act 189.

The new law bars elected state officials and other high-ranking public officials from serving as paid lobbyists for any person or business for 12 months after leaving their positions.

Additionally, “no former legislator or employee shall disclose any information that by law or practice is not available to the public and that by law the former legislator or employee acquired in the course of the former legislator’s or employee’s official duties or use the information for the former legislator’s or employee’s personal gain or the benefit of anyone.”

Members of any task force are exempt, but the new law specifically identifies dozens of state positions, including Cabinet members and chairmen and directors of state departments, boards and commissions; the governor; lieutenant governor; attorney general; adjutant general; superintendent of education; president of the University of Hawaii; the executive administrator of the UH Board of Regents; the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority; state auditor; and many others.

Climate change disclosure

Beginning May 1, sellers in real property transactions will be required to disclose whether their land lies in areas vulnerable to sea-level rise. Act 178 also makes state agencies responsible for identifying state land and facilities that are vulnerable to sea-level rise, flooding and other climate-change hazards.

In drafting HB 243, HD 1, SD 2, CD 1, legislators determined “that not only is climate change real, but it is also the overriding challenge of the (21st) century and one of the priority issues of the legislature. Climate change poses immediate and long-term threats to the State’s economy, sustainability, security, and its residents’ way of life.”

The new law also requires state agencies to identify the major areas of sea-level rise impacts affecting the state and counties through 2050, along with other responsibilities including determining the economic impacts of sea-level rise.