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Committee amends Honolulu fireworks ordinance to align penalties and definitions with state law
Summary
Bill 7 (2025) was amended to CD1 to align city fireworks definitions and penalties with state law; the committee reported the amended bill out for passage on second reading and scheduled a public hearing.
The Committee on Public Safety and Customer Services amended Bill 7 (2025), which revises the city’s fire code on fireworks, to a hand-carried CD1 and reported the bill out for passage on second reading and for scheduling of a public hearing.
Council Vice Chair Kea Aina, the measure’s introducer of the CD1, told the committee the amendment is intended to align Honolulu’s fire-code provisions with state fireworks law and avoid conflicts with the city charter and Hawaii Revised Statutes. “My CD1 is intended to align the enforcement and penalty provisions and city fireworks laws with state fireworks laws so that illegal fireworks perpetrators, especially with respect to illegal aerial devices, do not find loopholes to avoid prosecution,” Kea Aina said. She described legal constraints including city charter section 13-1-115 and HRS 46-1.514(b) and cited a 1977 Hawaii Supreme Court case, State v. Modica, raising due-process and equal-protection concerns when penalties differ for the same act.
Representatives of first-response agencies told the committee they support the amendment. Battalion Chief Pao Chi Wang of the Honolulu Fire Department said HFD supports the bill and expects it would “reduce the use of illegal fireworks” and lead to fewer fireworks-related injuries and fires. Captain Pacarro of the Honolulu Police Department’s Narcotics/Vice Division said HPD supports the measure and welcomed changes to definitions that can make prosecution easier, particularly where physical evidence is destroyed after detonation.
Committee Chair Okimono recommended the bill be amended to the posted hand-carried CD1 submitted by Council Vice Chair Kea Aina; no objections were recorded and the committee ordered the amendment. The committee then recommended Bill 7 CD1 be reported out for passage on second reading and that a public hearing be scheduled; again, members raised no objections and the committee ordered the measure reported out.
No in-person or remote public testimony was recorded on the item in the committee meeting transcript.
