Assortment of Hawaii bills aim to curb illegal fireworks

Nearly two dozen bills have been introduced this legislative session in an effort to crack down on illegal fireworks, with proposals to create task forces, increase fines and boost inspections of shipping containers.

The Legislature has considered similar bills before, but most have fizzled out as many in Hawaii cling to the argument that setting off fireworks of all sorts is a deep-rooted cultural tradition. On the other side of the argument are complaints about the health threat posed by the lingering smoke from fireworks and the noise nuisance that persists for days before and after the holidays that are celebrated with fireworks.

Also of concern to public safety officials and others are the dozens of fireworks- related injuries — even deaths — in recent years.

During the most recent New Year’s Eve observance, Honolulu Emergency Medical Services responded to 12 fireworks-related calls, the most serious of which involved fatal injures suffered by Kenneth Meyers, 28, of Wahiawa, who was struck in the face by a firework and died Jan. 4 at The Queen’s Medical Center.

His cause of death is pending, according to the Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office.

During a Jan. 1 news conference on overnight fireworks casualties, Dr. Jim Ireland, director of Honolulu Emergency Serv­ices, noted that illegal aerial fireworks are especially dangerous.

“I was taken aback by the number of people who were struck by aerial fireworks. Last year we didn’t see that,” he said.

Those injured ranged in age from a 12-year-old girl to a 55-year-old man, and the incidents happened across the island. The cases included a person who suffered genital injuries from fireworks in Kalihi; burns and shrapnel wounds when gasoline was used to make an improvised explosive device in Waianae; burns to hands and bleeding in Kaneohe; serious hand trauma in Waipahu; and loss of vision when fireworks exploded near a man’s face in Ewa Beach.

Previous fireworks-related deaths occurred in 2020 when a 34-year-old Kapaa man suffered fatal injuries while lighting a firework that “malfunctioned” and exploded in his hand, and in 2017 when a 38-year-old woman died from injuries suffered in a fireworks accident in Kapolei.

Here’s a list of fireworks bills introduced during the current legislative session:

>> House Bill 145 and its companion, Senate Bill 192, would impose statewide limits on consumer fireworks except for permit holders for cultural events. The bills are part of a package of proposals from the State Fire Council.

>> HB 686, HB 809, SB 37, HB 216 and SB 498 each would establish more stringent measures at Hawaii’s ports to detect illegal fireworks via shipping container inspection programs. HB 686 also would implement X-ray scanning technology.

>> HB 495 and its companion, SB 846, would increase fines related to certain firework violations.

>> HB 783, HB 889, HB 1041 and its companion, SB 1339, would all create an illegal fireworks task force. HB 783 and HB 889 propose establishing a task force within the state Department of the Attorney General. HB 1041 and SB 1339 are part of Gov. Josh Green’s legislative package and propose establishing a task force within the “department of law enforcement.”

>> HB 325 would impose a penalty up to $5,000 on homeowners, renters and property managers who intentionally, knowingly or recklessly allow others to unlawfully use aerial devices from their properties after 9 p.m. and before 9 a.m.

>> HB 1322 would require each county police department to create a fireworks enforcement unit.

>> SB 251 would require county police departments to purchase and deploy explosive-detection technology to find illegal firearms and fireworks.

>> SB 708 would decriminalize possession and use of fireworks and instead impose fines. The bill also proposes a Fireworks Possession Special Fund that would provide money to county police departments and climate change mitigation efforts.

>> SB 821 would spend $1 million from the state’s General Fund to purchase drones to monitor use of illegal fireworks.

>> SB 1481 would authorize county fire departments to inspect warehouses, piers, cargo, baggage and the personal effects of arriving ship passengers for illegal fireworks. It also would require firework importers to file written statements with county fire departments.

>>SB 1611 would require the state Department of Transportation to install fireworks-scanning equipment at every state airport and commercial harbor.