Bill Text: HI HB2459 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To Illegal Fireworks.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-07 - This measure has been deleted from the meeting scheduled on Thursday 02-08-24 2:00PM in conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE. [HB2459 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2024-HB2459-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
2459 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO ILLEGAL FIREWORKS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 2. Chapter 132D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding six new sections to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§132D- Entry
for examination; obstructing law enforcement or fire department operations;
penalty. (a) Any law enforcement officer having police
power and any county fire department officer, which includes firefighters, may
at reasonable hours enter and inspect the premises of the holder of a license
or permit issued under this chapter and any books or records therein, to verify
compliance with this chapter and the conditions of the license or the
permit. For purposes of this section, "premises
of the holder of a license or permit" does not include the holder's
private residences, defined as dwellings considered to be a person's home,
including a single family house, apartment unit, condominium, townhouse, or
cooperative unit.
(b) Upon a request by any law enforcement officer
having police power and any county fire department officer, which includes
firefighters, to enter and inspect the premises at reasonable hours, the holder
of the license or permit or the holder's employee shall make available for
immediate inspection and examination the premises and all the relevant books
and records therein.
(c) Any holder of a license or permit issued
under this chapter who refuses entry or access to an officer to the premises
shall be found in violation of conditions of the license or the permit and the
license or permit shall be suspended or revoked by the issuing department after
hearing, for violation of any certficate requirement or condition or any
provision of this chapter or rule adopted under this chapter. Any order made by the issuing department for
the suspension or revocation of a license or permit shall be in writing and
shall set forth the reasons for the revocation.
The action of the issuing department in suspending or revoking the
proceedings may be reviewed in the manner provided in chapter 91. The department that issued the license or
permit shall provide the license or permit holder with a written notice and
order describing the basis for the revocation.
Any person aggrieved by the revocation determination may request a
contested case hearing pursuant to chapter 91.
To request a contested case hearing, the person shall submit a written
request to the department that issued the license or permit within thirty
calendar days of the date of the notice and order of the revocation. Appeal to the circuit court under section 91-14,
or any other applicable statute, shall only be taken from the issuing
department's final order pursuant to a contested case.
(d) If any officer, or any person called by the
officer to the officer's aid, is threatened with the use of violence, force, or
physical interference or obstacle, or is hindered, obstructed, or prevented by
any licensee, permittee, the licensee's or permittee's employees, or any other
person from entering into the licensee's or permittee's premises, or whenever
any officer is by any licensee or permittee, the licensee's or permittee's
employees, or any of the other persons opposed, obstructed, or molested in the
performance of the officer's duty in any respect, the licensee, permittee, the
licensee's or permittee's employee, or any of the other persons shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of no more than $2,000, or by
imprisonment for no more than one year, or both.
(e) Whenever any officer, having demanded
admittance into any licensee's or permittee's premises and declared the officer's
name and office, is not admitted by the licensee, or permittee, or the person
in charge of the premises, it shall be lawful for the officer to use force to
enter the premises.
§132D- Administrative inspections. (a) The director of law enforcement or the
director's designee may conduct administrative inspections of controlled
premises upon presenting appropriate credentials to the licensee or permittee
or persons subject to this chapter or their agents in accordance with the
following provisions:
(1) Inspections shall be at reasonable
times and within reasonable limits and in a reasonable manner of controlled
premises in which persons licensed or permitted under this chapter are
authorized to hold, store, transport, sell, possess, or otherwise dispose of
any fireworks and articles pyrotechnic to verify compliance with this chapter
and the conditions of the license or the permit;
(2) The director of law enforcement or
the director's designee shall have access to, and may copy, any and all
records, books, logs, or documents pertaining to the holding, storing,
transporting, selling, possessing, or disposition of fireworks or articles
pyrotechnic regulated under this chapter without a warrant; and
(3) The director of law enforcement or
the director's designee may inventory any stock of any fireworks or articles
pyrotechnic regulated under this chapter and secure samples or specimens of any
fireworks or any articles pyrotechnic not seized as evidence by paying for the
sample. The
director of law enforcement or the director's designee shall make or cause to
be made examinations of samples secured under this section to verify compliance
with this chapter or the conditions of the license or the permit.
(4) The regulatory authority, under this
chapter, shall remain with the five county fire departments. The director of law enforcement or the
director's designee conducting these inspections are aiding the county fire
departments' enforcement of its regulatory authority.
(b)
For purposes of this section, "controlled
premises" means:
(1) Places where persons licensed or
permitted under this chapter are required to keep records; and
(2) Places, including factories,
warehouses, establishments, businesses, storefronts, vehicles, and conveyances
in which persons licensed under this chapter are permitted to hold, store,
transport, sell, possess, or otherwise dispose of any fireworks and articles
pyrotechnic.
§132D- Records of licensees and permittees. (a) Persons licensed or permitted to hold, store,
transport, sell, possess, or otherwise dispose of any fireworks and articles
pyrotechnic shall keep records and maintain inventories in conformance with the
recordkeeping and inventory requirements of this chapter.
(b) Every person who holds a license or permit
under this chapter shall keep a record of all fireworks and articles
pyrotechnic received, imported, held, distributed, sold
possessed, or disposed of that shows the amounts received, imported, held,
distributed, sold, possessed, or disposed of for a period of five years.
(c) Records required under this section shall be
maintained separately in a file, log book, or electronic database that is
readily accessible by the holder of the license or permit;
(d) All records pertaining to the receipt,
importation, storage, distribution, sale, possession, and disposal of fireworks
and articles pyrotechnic must be produced and made available upon request by
the director of law enforcement, or the county fire chiefs, or their designees.
§132D- Mandatory reporting. (a) Notwithstanding any other law concerning
confidentiality to the contrary, the holder of a license or permit issued under
this chapter who, in the holder's professional or official capacity, has reason
to believe that fireworks or articles pyrotechnic in the holder's inventory
have been stolen, embezzled, or otherwise obtained by fraud or diversion, shall
immediately report the matter verbally to the director of law enforcement and
the county fire chief of the county in which the holder of the license or
permit resides or conducts business.
(b)
The holder of a license or permit under
this chapter shall submit a written report to the director of law enforcement
and the county fire chief of the county in which the holder of the license or
permit resides or conducts business as soon as practicable following the verbal
report. The written report shall
contain:
(1) The name and address of the
suspected perpetrator, if known;
(2) The nature and extent of the theft,
embezzlement, fraud, or diversion; and
(3) Any other information that the
reporter believes might be helpful or relevant to the investigation of the
theft, embezzlement, fraud, or diversion.
(c)
Any person subject to subsection (a),
upon demand of the director of law enforcement or the county fire chief of the
county in which the holder of the license or permit resides or conducts
business, shall provide all information related to the alleged incident of
theft, embezzlement, fraud, or diversion, including records, reports, and any
image, film, video, or other electronic medium, that was not included in the
written report submitted pursuant to subsection (b).
(d)
This chapter shall not be construed to
provide a basis for a cause of action against the director of law enforcement
or the county fire chief or their departments.
(e)
Any person subject to this section who
knowingly prevents another person from reporting as required by this section,
or who knowingly fails to provide information as required by this section,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
§132D- Disposal
of confiscated fireworks. A
county fire department or law enforcement agency that confiscates prohibited
fireworks or articles pyrotechnic pursuant to this chapter may safely destroy
or dispose of the confiscated fireworks; provided that the law enforcement
agency shall retain a sample of each type of confiscated fireworks or articles
pyrotechnic for evidentiary purposes.
§132D- Storage
and disposal fine. In any administrative,
civil, or criminal action, following notice and an opportunity for hearing, the
agency or court hearing the action shall hold liable any party in violation of
this chapter and from whom fireworks or articles pyrotechnic were confiscated, seized,
or otherwise taken into custody by the state or county agency or agencies for
the total amount of the costs incurred by the agency or agencies for the
storage and disposal of the confiscated or seized fireworks or articles
pyrotechnic. An administrative or civil
order to pay a storage and disposal fine may be collected in the same manner as
a judgment in a civil action. An agency
or agencies may collect the full amount of the storage and disposal fine
together with any costs, interest, and attorney's fees incurred in any action
to enforce the order to pay a storage and disposal fine."
SECTION 3. Section 132D-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§132D-8 Application for license. (a) All licenses required under section 132D-7 shall be issued by the county and shall be nontransferable. Licenses to import shall specify the date of issuance or effect and the date of expiration, which shall be March 31 of each year. The application shall be made on a form setting forth the date upon which the importations are to begin, the address of the location of the importer, and the name of the proprietor or, if a partnership, the name of the partnership and the names of all partners or, if a corporation, the name of the corporation and the names of its officers. The application for a license to import display fireworks, articles pyrotechnic, or aerial devices shall include written documentation of the proposed display event and related contact information in a form prescribed by the applicable county. If the state fire council or county discovers at a later date that a licensee has been convicted of a felony under this chapter, the licensee's license shall be revoked and no new license shall be issued to the licensee for two years.
(b) Each storage, wholesaling, and retailing site shall be required to obtain a separate license. The license shall specify the date of issuance or effect and the date of expiration, which shall be March 31 of each year. The application shall be made on a form setting forth the date upon which the storage, sale, or offers for sale are to begin, the address of the location of the licensee, and the name of the proprietor, or, if a partnership, the name of the partnership and the names of all partners or, if a corporation, the name of the corporation and the name of its officers. Any license issued pursuant to this chapter may be revoked by the county if the licensee violates any provision of this chapter or if the licensee stores or handles the fireworks in such a manner as to present an unreasonable safety hazard.
(c) Permanent and temporary fireworks storage buildings or structures and buildings or facilities where redistribution activities are performed shall comply with the currently adopted county building or fire codes or the latest edition of nationally recognized standards.
(d) It shall be unlawful for any licensee, other than a wholesaler who is selling or transferring fireworks or articles pyrotechnic to a licensed retailer, to sell or offer to sell, exchange for consideration, give, transfer, or donate any fireworks or articles pyrotechnic at any time to any person who does not present a permit duly issued as required by section 132D-10 or 132D-16. The permit shall be signed by the seller or transferor at the time of sale or transfer of the fireworks or articles pyrotechnic, and the seller or transferor shall indicate on the permit the amount and type of fireworks or articles pyrotechnic sold or transferred. No person shall sell or deliver fireworks to any permittee in any amount in excess of the amount specified in the permit, less the amount shown on the permit to have been previously purchased; provided that no fireworks shall be sold to a permittee holding a permit issued for purposes of section 132D-3, more than five calendar days before the applicable time period under section 132D-3.
(e)
Aerial devices, display fireworks, or articles pyrotechnic shall only be
sold or transferred by a wholesaler to a person with a valid permit under
sections 132D-10 and 132D-16. No person
with a valid permit under sections 132D-10 and 132D-16 shall sell or transfer
aerial devices, display fireworks, or articles pyrotechnic to any other person.
(f) Any license issued pursuant to this chapter shall be prominently displayed in public view at each licensed location.
(g) Any licensee under this chapter consents to allow the director of law enforcement or the director's designee to inspect the premises of the licensee. If a licensee withdraws consent to inspect the premises of the licensee, the license shall be revoked."
SECTION 4. Section 132D-8.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
"(b) The department of law enforcement or the
fire department of a county, in which a shipment of fireworks or articles
pyrotechnic has landed and becomes subject to the jurisdiction of the fire
department, shall be allowed to inspect, if it chooses, any shipment declared
on the shipping manifest as fireworks or articles pyrotechnic[.] or
any facility in which such fireworks or articles pyrotechnic are stored."
SECTION 5. Section 132D-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§132D-9 Application for permit. The permit required under section 132D-10 or 132D-16 shall be issued by the county or its authorized designees and be nontransferable. The county or its authorized designees shall issue all permits for which complete applications have been submitted and which contain only correct information. The permit shall specify the date of issuance or effect and the date of expiration but in no case for a period to exceed one year. The permit for the purchase of consumer fireworks for the purposes of section 132D-3 shall not allow purchase for more than one event as set forth in section 132D-3. The application shall be made on a form setting forth the dates for which the permit shall be valid, the location where the permitted activity is to occur, and the name of the proprietor or, if a partnership, the name of the partnership and the names of all partners or, if a corporation, the name of the corporation and the names of its officers. The permit application may be denied if the proposed use of fireworks or articles pyrotechnic presents a substantial inconvenience to the public or presents an unreasonable fire or safety hazard. Any permit issued pursuant to this chapter shall be prominently displayed in public view at the site. Any permittee under this chapter consents to allow the director of law enforcement or the director's designee to inspect the premises of the permittee, except for private residences. If a permittee withdraws consent to inspect the premises of the permittee, the permit shall be revoked."
SECTION 6. Section 132D-14, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§132D-14 Penalty. (a) Any person:
(1) Importing aerial devices, display fireworks, or articles pyrotechnic without having a valid license under section 132D-7 shall be guilty of a class C felony;
(2) Purchasing, possessing, setting off, igniting, or discharging aerial devices, display fireworks, or articles pyrotechnic without a valid permit under sections 132D-10 and 132D-16, or storing, selling, or possessing aerial devices, display fireworks, or articles pyrotechnic without a valid license under section 132D-7, or allowing an individual to possess, set off, ignite, discharge, or otherwise cause to explode any aerial device in violation of section 132D-14.5:
(A) If the total weight of the aerial devices, display fireworks, or articles pyrotechnic is twenty-five pounds or more, shall be guilty of a class C felony; or
(B) If the total weight of the aerial devices, display fireworks, or articles pyrotechnic is less than twenty-five pounds, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor;
(3) Who transfers or sells aerial devices, display fireworks, or articles pyrotechnic to a person who does not have a valid permit under sections 132D-10 and 132D-16, shall be guilty of a class C felony; and
(4) Who removes or extracts the pyrotechnic contents from any fireworks or articles pyrotechnic and uses the contents to construct fireworks, articles pyrotechnic, or a fireworks or articles pyrotechnic related device shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (a) or as otherwise specifically provided for in this chapter, any person violating any other provision of this chapter, shall be fined no more than $5,000 for each violation. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in this section, any person violating section 132D-14.5 shall be fined at least $500 and no more than $5,000.
(c) The court shall collect the fines imposed in subsections (a) and (b) for violating this chapter and, of the fines collected, shall pay twenty per cent to the State and eighty per cent to the county in which the fine was imposed which shall be expended by the county for law enforcement purposes.
(d) Notwithstanding any penalty set forth herein, violations of subsection (a)(1) or (3) may be subject to nuisance abatement proceedings provided in part V of chapter 712.
(e) For the purposes of this section, each type
of prohibited fireworks as defined by section 132D-2 imported, purchased, sold,
possessed, ignited, or discharged shall constitute a separate violation for
each unopened package, and each separate firework imported, purchased, sold,
possessed, ignited, or discharged shall be a separate violation if the package
is opened or the firework is not in a package.
(f) For the purposes of this section:
"Package" (1) means any aerial devices, display fireworks, or articles pyrotechnic (A) enclosed in a container or wrapped in any manner in advance of wholesale or retail sale; and (B) whose weight or measure has been determined in advance of wholesale or retail sale; (2) but does not mean (A) inner wrappings not intended to be individually sold to the customer; (B) shipping containers or wrapping used solely for the transportion of any commodities in bulk or in quantity; (C) auxiliary containers or outer wrappings used to deliver such commodities if such containers or wrappings bear no printed matter pertaining to any particular aerial devices, display fireworks, or articles pyrotechnic; (D) containers used for retail tray pack displays when the container itself is not intended to be sold; or (E) open carriers and transparent wrappers or carriers for containers when the wrappers or carriers do not bear printed matter pertaining to any particular aerial devices, display fireworks, or articles pyrotechnic."
SECTION 7. Section 132D-20, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
"(a) This chapter shall be enforced by each
county[.] or the department of law enforcement. The counties, the department of law enforcement,
or both are authorized to enforce and administer the provisions of this
chapter."
SECTION 8. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.
SECTION 9. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 10. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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BY REQUEST |
Report Title:
Illegal Fireworks; Enforcement
Description:
Amends chapter 132D, HRS, to strengthen county and state agencies' ability to address the illegal use of fireworks in Hawaii.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
