IMPROVING PUBLIC SAFETY FOR COMMUNITIES STATEWIDE: SENATE INSPECTS FIREWORKS BUNKER
- Hawaiʻi State Senate
- 3 days ago
- 1 min read
WAIPAHU, HAWAIʻI – The Senate conducted a site visit today to inspect a bunker used to store confiscated illegal fireworks.
The site visit included a briefing on the ongoing work of the Department of Law Enforcement’s Illegal Fireworks Task Force, highlighting the enforcement efforts and challenges of addressing illegal fireworks statewide.
“Illegal fireworks pose serious risks to our neighborhoods, and the work of the Task Force is critical to protecting the public,” said Senator Brandon J.C. Elefante (District 16 - ‘Aiea, ‘Aiea Heights, Hālawa, Pearlridge, Newtown, Royal Summit, Waimalu, Waiau, Momilani, Pacific Palisades, and Pearl City), Chair of the Senate Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs. “With the passage of Act 246, 243, 244, and 247 (Session Laws of Hawai‘i 2025), the State Legislature is committed to supporting the work of the Task Force in enforcing effective legislation to address the issue of illegal fireworks in our state.”
“The creation of the Task Force has allowed us to better align county, State, and Federal resources, and these results show the progress we can achieve when we work together,” said Director Mike Lambert, Department of Law Enforcement.
The Illegal Fireworks Task Force was established pursuant to Act 67 (Session Laws of Hawai‘i 2023) to coordinate enforcement and strengthen interagency collaboration. Since its formation, the Task Force has seized over 227,000 pounds of illegal fireworks, conducted more than 1,200 enforcement operations, and coordinated multi-agency interdictions that have disrupted major shipments statewide.
