Hawaii’s governor and a top state law enforcement official shot off a warning to illegal fireworks users Monday, four days before the Fourth of July, announcing two new laws that took effect today.
During a ceremony in his office at the state Capitol, Gov. Josh Green signed two “signature” bills passed by the Legislature in May to crack down on rampant use, possession and distribution of illegal fireworks statewide.
One new law allows police officers to issue $300 civil citations for unpermitted fireworks possession or use. The law also establishes, among other things, higher criminal felony penalties for accidents that seriously injure or kill anyone, for possessing large quantities of fireworks and for repeat convictions.
The other new law allows use of aerial drone images as evidence for prosecution, and there could be 10 state Department of Law Enforcement drones shooting video in the skies over Oahu Friday.
“Today’s signing represents a change in the way that we view, prioritize and enforce (new laws against) individuals that recklessly place our communities at risk,” said DLE Director Mike Lambert. “No longer will we look at it as a benign activity or family fun.”
Lambert said there will be “much more enforcement” of violations occurring July 4 as a tuneup of sorts for New Year’s Eve when fireworks use soars in Hawaii.
Green advised the public to attend organized public fireworks shows or watch them on TV instead of risking fines, prison terms and the safety of themselves or others by using illegal fireworks.
“The police are going to be able to really charge, and then have the prosecutors prosecute cases to the max because of what the Legislature did,” Green said. “And these penalties are not going to be small. These are going to be serious felonies now. … I don’t want anyone to be surprised when there’s a felony charge against them.”
Green also urged people who plan to set off illegal fireworks Friday to instead surrender them to DLE at upcoming collection events to be announced later.
The two bills that became law today, House Bills 1483 and 550, were part of a flurry of legislation introduced in mid-January after a bomb-like fireworks cache explosion during a New Year’s Eve party at an Aliamanu home killed six people, including a 3-year-old boy, and injured dozens of others.
Some people involved in the incident were charged with crimes under then-existing laws that the Legislature and many community members consider insufficient. Other residents have been frustrated for decades at the widespread use of fireworks, including aerials, that can cause fires, respiratory issues and often rival commercial-grade pyrotechnics that produce house-shaking booms.
“When the community and our constituents gave us a call to action, we responded and delivered by passing these bills to deter the use of illegal fireworks,” said Sen. Brandon Elefante, chair of the Senate Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs.
Elefante (D, Aiea-Pacific Palisades-Pearl City) also noted the Legislature passed two other fireworks-related bills that Green signed Monday.
HB 806 appropriates $500,000 to DLE in the fiscal year beginning today and the same amount next fiscal year to conduct fireworks sting operations on Oahu.
Senate Bill 222 extends for five years an illegal fireworks task force that was established in June 2023 within DLE and was scheduled to disband Monday.
The state budget bill also appropriates about $5 million for an Explosive Enforcement Section in DLE with eight staff positions to disrupt the illegal fireworks trade in Hawaii.
Rep. Scot Matayoshi, chair of the House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce, said he was personally concerned for the safety of his own family after the tragic event in Aliamanu, in part because he has a 3-year-old son.
“After that incident happened, we didn’t know if our neighbor had a bomb in their house that was about to go off to threaten our families, our kids sleeping in their beds,” said Matayoshi (D, Kaneohe-Maunawili) during Monday’s ceremony. “It was a really scary time, and I’m really glad that the Legislature came together with the help of and support of Governor Green and the attorney general’s office to craft a bill, to craft legislation, to proactively take a stand on this.”
Matayoshi, the lead introducer of HB 1483, which is packed with all kinds of new violations and penalties related to illegal fireworks covering 88 pages, said the goal of the new law is to deter use.
“You know, we don’t sell a lot of fur coats here in Hawaii. There’s just no market for it,” he said. “What I want is for fireworks to be a fur coat. I want it to be harder to sell a fur coat on the beach in Waikiki than it is to sell an illegal firework here in Hawaii because so many people are afraid of the consequences of using and buying them, and afraid of the harm it’s going to cause to both themselves and their families.”
Penalties under the new law include up to one year in jail and/or up to a $2,000 fine for illegally setting off aerials within 500 feet of a dwelling.
The offense can rise to a Class C felony punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment and/or up to a $10,000 fine for anyone with a fireworks conviction in the prior 10 years. If the fireworks cause substantial injury to someone, the offense rises to a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or up to a $25,000 fine.
And if someone is seriously injured, it rises to a Class A felony punishable up to 20 years in prison and/or up to a $50,000 fine.
The same range of felony penalties in instances of repeat convictions and injuries also applies to distributors of illegal fireworks.
Another part in the new law establishes felony offenses for purchasing or possessing large quantities of illicit fireworks.
“Don’t run the risk of being the first person prosecuted with a Class B or Class A felony for blowing up some child,” Green warned. “You don’t want to be the person that goes to jail for 20 years. … We’re not trying to take the fun out of life at all. I love fireworks. We all love fireworks — but when they’re done safely, that is the key.”