Report Title:
Fireworks
Description:
Prohibits all fireworks except for aerial common fireworks and special fireworks for public display.
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
452 |
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TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to fireworks.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The widespread use of fireworks in the State is a serious safety hazard for persons and property. The legislature declares that there is a compelling state interest to prohibit the use of all fireworks, except special fireworks.
The purpose of this Act is to ban all fireworks, except aerial common fireworks and special fireworks for public display, in all counties of Hawaii, to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the people of this State. This Act also requires State, county, and federal officials to coordinate their efforts to enforce the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 2. Section 132D-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"[[]§132D-1[]] Title. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Fireworks [Control] Prohibition Law"."
SECTION 3. Section 132D-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"[[]§132D-5[]] General prohibitions. It shall be unlawful for any person [without a permit] to:
(1) Remove or extract the pyrotechnic contents from any fireworks;
(2) [Throw any ignited fireworks from a moving vehicle; or
(3)] Set off, ignite, discharge, or otherwise cause to explode, import, store, offer to sell, or sell, at wholesale or retail, any [fireworks:
(A) At any time not within the periods for use prescribed in section 132D-3, unless permitted pursuant to section 132D-10;
(B) Within one thousand feet from any operating hospital, convalescent home, home for the elderly, or animal hospital;
(C) In any school building, or on any school grounds and yards without first obtaining authorization from appropriate school officials;
(D) On any highway, alley, street, sidewalk, or other public way; in any park; within fifty feet from a canefield; or within one thousand feet from any building used for public worship during the periods when services are held; except as may be permitted pursuant to section 132D-10; and
(E) Within five hundred feet from any hotel.]
non-aerial common fireworks;
(3) Set off, ignite, discharge, or otherwise cause to explode any aerial common fireworks or special fireworks, unless permitted to do so in accordance with section 132D-10; or
(4) Knowingly or recklessly permit, aid, or abet the setting off, ignition, discharge, or explosion of fireworks on the premises under the person’s charge."
SECTION 4. Section 132D-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§132D-7 License or permit required. A person shall not:
(1) Import, store, offer to sell, or sell, at wholesale or retail, aerial common fireworks, or special fireworks,[or non-aerial common fireworks,] unless the person has a valid license issued by the county; or
(2) Possess aerial common fireworks or special fireworks without a valid license to import, store, or sell aerial common fireworks or special fireworks, or a valid permit as provided for in this chapter[; or
(3) Purchase non-aerial common fireworks with a permit under section 132D-10 more than five calendar days before the applicable time period for use prescribed in section 132D-3 in the county that issued the permit]."
SECTION 5. Section 132D-8.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"[[]§132D-8.6[]] Requirements of licensee.[]] (a) Any person who has obtained a license under section 132D-7 and ships fireworks into the State shall:
(1) Clearly designate the types of fireworks in each shipment on the bill of lading or shipping manifest with specificity;
(2) Declare on the bill of lading or shipping manifest the gross weight of aerial common fireworks,[non-aerial common fireworks,] and special fireworks to be imported in each shipment and the location of the storage facility, if applicable, in which the fireworks are to be stored;
(3) Prior to shipment and when booking each shipment of fireworks, notify the appropriate county official as determined by the county regarding whether the shipment will be distributed from:
(A) Pier to pier;
(B) Pier to warehouse or storage facility; or
(C) Pier to redistribution; and
(4) At the time shipping is booked, the importer or consignee shall notify the appropriate county official as determined by the county in writing of the expected shipment’s landing date.
(b) The fire department of a county, in which a shipment of fireworks 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.
(c) The facility in which fireworks are to be stored must:
(1) Have received approval fifteen days prior to the shipment’s arrival from the appropriate county fire department; and
(2) Meet all [state] State and county fire and safety codes.
(d) Any fireworks landed in the State shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture if:
(1) The importer or consignee does not have in the importer’s or consignee’s possession a valid license to import fireworks under section 132D-7;
(2) The consignee does not have a valid license to store fireworks under section 132D-7; or
(3) The fireworks have not been declared or have been misdeclared in violation of [[]subsection[]] (a).
(e) [No person holding a retailer license to sell non-aerial common fireworks shall be allowed to sell non-aerial common fireworks commonly known as firecrackers in a packet size larger than 5,000 individual units. Any person violating this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(f)] Any person violating [subsections] subsection (a), (c), or (d) shall be subject to the following for shipments of fireworks of:
(1) Twenty-five pounds or less gross weight shall be a petty misdemeanor;
(2) Over twenty-five pounds to three hundred pounds gross weight shall be a misdemeanor;
(3) Over three hundred pounds to ten thousand pounds gross weight shall be a class C felony; and
(4) More than ten thousand pounds gross weight shall be a class B felony."
SECTION 6. 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 and be nontransferable. The county 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 non-aerial common 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]:
(1) The dates for which the permit shall be valid[, the]
(2) The location where the permitted activity is to occur[,]; and [the]
(3) 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 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."
SECTION 7. Section 132D-10, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§132D-10 Permits. A permit shall be required for the purchase of[:
(1) Any non-aerial common fireworks commonly known as firecrackers upon payment of a fee of $25; and
(2) Any] any aerial common fireworks and any special
fireworks for the purposes of section 132D-16."
SECTION 8. Section 132D-13, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"[[]§132D-13[]] Liability of parents or guardians. The parents, guardian, and other persons having the custody or control of any minor, who knowingly permit the minor to possess, purchase, or set off, ignite, or otherwise cause to explode any fireworks, shall be deemed to be in violation of this chapter and shall be subject to the penalties thereunder[, except that the parents or guardian may allow the minor to use fireworks while under the immediate supervision and control of the parent or guardian, or under the supervision and control of another adult]."
SECTION 9. Section 132D-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.
["§132D-3 Permissible uses of non-aerial common fireworks. Non-aerial common fireworks may be set off, ignited, discharged, or otherwise caused to explode within the State only:
(1) From 9:00 p.m. on New Year’s Eve to 1:00 a.m. on New Year’s Day; from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Chinese New Year’s Day; and from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on the Fourth of July; or
(2) From 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. as allowed by permit pursuant to section 132D-10 if the proposed cultural use is to occur at any time other than during the periods prescribed in paragraph (1);
provided that the purchase of not more than 5,000 individual non-aerial common fireworks commonly known as firecrackers shall be allowed under each permit."]
SECTION 10. If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are severable.
SECTION 11. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 12. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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