SB631

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that in 1979, the state fire marshal's office was abolished and the legislature created the state fire council, which is comprised of four county fire chiefs and administratively attached to the department of labor and industrial relations. The goal of the state fire council is to develop and maintain a comprehensive fire service emergency management network for the protection of life, property, and the environment throughout the State. The state fire council is tasked with reviewing and adopting the state fire code, providing administrative oversight of the reduced ignition propensity cigarette program, providing assistance with the application and administration of federal grants for the fire service, assisting and coordinating with the statewide delivery of fire training programs, coordinating the collection of fire data, and supporting contingency planning needs for firefighters. The state fire council also has other responsibilities, including establishing statewide qualifications for testing, certifying, and credentialing individuals who perform maintenance and testing of portable fire extinguishers, fire protection systems, and fire alarm systems; advising the governor and legislature on matters related to fire prevention, fire protection, and life safety; and acting as a voting member on the state building code council.

The legislature further finds that from the state fire council's inception until 2001, the council had no funding for staff personnel to fulfill its responsibilities. Instead, the state fire council relied upon county personnel to perform its duties, along with their normal functions within their respective fire departments. In 2001, the governor directed the department of labor and industrial relations to allocate $35,000 into its budget to fund the first part-time employee for the state fire council. Later, in 2011, an additional $71,000 was appropriated by the legislature to hire two additional personnel for the state fire council.

The legislature further finds that an underutilized source of funding for more staff personnel for the state fire council may exist. Hawaii enacted a reduced ignition propensity cigarette law effective on September 30, 2009, with the intent to "require that only reduced ignition propensity cigarettes be sold in the State". As a result, section 132C-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires that cigarette manufacturers submit written certification attesting that each cigarette brand and style they wish to sell in Hawaii has been tested in accordance with the performance standards required under state law for reduced ignition propensity. Along with each cigarette certification, which must be renewed every three years, a fee of $375 must be paid to the state fire council and deposited into the reduced ignition propensity cigarette program special fund. However, from 2009 through early 2014, the special fund was not utilized. Only since January 2014 has the fund been utilized for the salary of personnel – the hiring of an administrative specialist to help manage the reduced ignition propensity cigarette program - and other expenses directly attributed to the program.

With moneys from the reduced ignition propensity cigarettes special fund, the state fire council could hire additional personnel to oversee the coordination of statewide fire data collection and analysis and administer federal fire-related grants. The state fire council would also be able to fund statewide educational efforts for the protection of life, property, and the environment, such as the firefighter safety guide program for Hawaii's youth and residential smoke alarm installation program for Hawaii's at-risk senior population.

The purpose of this Act is to:

(1) Expand the use of the reduced ignition propensity cigarette program special fund to support the duties and responsibilities of the state fire council, including the hiring of staff;

(2) Specify the testing process by the state fire council in determining a cigarette's compliance with performance standards under state law; and

(3) Expand the conditions in which a civil penalty may be imposed on a manufacturer to include a cigarette failure rate of twenty-five per cent or greater after two successive failed tests.

SECTION 2. Section 132C-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:

"(d) Testing performed or sponsored by the state fire council to determine a cigarette's compliance with the performance standard required by this section shall be conducted in accordance with this section. For cigarettes that fail the testing required by subsection (a), the following testing process shall be followed by the state fire council:

(1) Twenty-five cigarette brand or style samples consisting of two packs per brand or style shall be selected by the state fire council for testing. Cigarettes shall be tested in accordance with the test method outlined under this section;

(2) Any cigarette brand or style test that has a failure rate of twenty-five per cent or greater shall be identified and designated for further testing; provided that the manufacturer shall be notified in writing of the failed cigarette brand or style test results;

(3) Forty packs of the failed cigarette brand or style, with two packs per test, shall be purchased and submitted for follow-up testing;

(4) If any of the follow-up tests has a failure rate of twenty-five per cent or greater, the manufacturer shall be informed of the second test failure and the failed cigarette brand or style shall be removed from sale in the State within thirty days from the date the notification of the second test failure is received by the manufacturer;

(5) The manufacturer may file a written appeal to the state fire council no more than ten days after the notification of the second test failure is received by the manufacturer. The manufacturer shall provide written justification or evidence to support its appeal; and

(6) Thirty days after an appeal has been received, the state fire council shall conduct an administrative hearing to render a decision based on the written justification or evidence submitted by the manufacturer to support the appeal."

SECTION 3. Section 132C-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By amending subsection (a) to read:

"(a) The following civil penalties may be assessed:

(1) Against a manufacturer, wholesaler, or any other person or entity that knowingly sells cigarettes, except by licensed retail sales, in violation of section 132C-3, a civil penalty not to exceed $100 for each pack of cigarettes sold or offered for sale; provided that in no case shall the penalty exceed $100,000 during any thirty-day period;

(2) Against a manufacturer that knowingly makes a false certification pursuant to section 132C-4, a civil penalty of at least $75,000 and not to exceed $250,000 for each false certification;

(3) Against a dealer that knowingly sells or offers for sale cigarettes in violation of section 132C-3, a civil penalty not to exceed $100 for each pack of cigarettes sold or offered for sale; provided that in no case shall the penalty exceed $25,000 for sales or offers to sell during any thirty-day period; and

(4) Against any other person that violates this chapter, a civil penalty for a first offense not to exceed $1,000, and for a subsequent offense not to exceed $5,000 for each violation[.]; provided that the penalties under this paragraph may apply to manufacturers whose cigarette brand or style has a failure rate of twenty-five per cent or greater after two successive failed tests."

2. By amending subsection (d) to read:

"(d) In addition to any other remedy provided by law, the attorney general may file an action for a violation of this section, including petitioning for injunctive relief, recovery of costs or damages suffered by the State as the result of a violation of this section, including testing and enforcement costs relating to the specific violation and attorney fees. Each violation of this chapter or of any rule adopted pursuant to this chapter shall constitute a separate civil violation for which the attorney general may obtain relief."

SECTION 4. Section 132C-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§132C‑9[]] Reduced ignition propensity cigarette program special fund. (a) There is established in the state treasury a reduced ignition propensity cigarette program special fund, into which shall be deposited all moneys collected by the state fire council from the reduced ignition propensity cigarette program pursuant to section 132C-4. All interest earned or accrued on moneys deposited in the fund shall become part of the fund.

(b) Moneys in the reduced ignition propensity cigarette program special fund shall be administered and expended by the state fire council to defray the actual cost of activities and requirements of section 132C-4, including employing [~~one~~] a full-time or part-time administrator [~~and one full-time~~], an administrative assistant [~~whose duties~~], and other staff personnel without regard to chapters 76 and 89. The duties of the administrator, administrative assistant, and other staff shall include:

(1) Adopting administrative rules for program implementation, establishing compliance inspections, and approving forms and enforcement procedures and guidelines;

(2) Receiving certifications for approximately six hundred different brands and styles of cigarettes from the manufacturers;

(3) Compiling a list of the cigarette brands and styles for which manufacturers have submitted certifications, verifying tax stamp compliance with the department of the attorney general, and posting the list of certified brands and styles on a state website for informational purposes only;

(4) Reviewing and approving, as needed, any alternative test methods or fire standard compliance markings submitted by the manufacturer; and

(5) If needed, submitting certified cigarettes to an accredited laboratory for testing to verify that performance standards have been met.

(c) Moneys in the reduced ignition propensity cigarette program special fund may be administered and expended by the state fire council to defray the cost of:

(1) Statewide community fire education, safety, and prevention programs, especially programs related to youth and seniors;

(2) Emergency preparedness and life safety programs; and

(3) The administrative duties of the state fire council, including the hiring of additional personnel."

SECTION 5. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 6. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	631
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019
STATE OF HAWAII