SB2124 SD2

SECTION 1. Chapter 342F, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part II to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§342F- Noise violations; maximum permissible sound level; enforcement; penalty. (a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, noise emitting from an establishment; adjacent outdoor areas under the control of the establishment, including parking lots or lanais; or patrons entering or departing from the establishment shall not exceed the following sound levels:

(1) In areas zoned as conservation, preservation, residential, open, or open space, or designated a similar type of zoning, the maximum sound level shall be:

(A) Fifty-five decibels (dBC) during the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; and

(B) Forty-five decibels (dBC) during the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.;

(2) In areas zoned as apartment, business, commercial, hotel, or resort, or designated a similar type of zoning, the maximum sound level shall be:

(A) Sixty decibels (dBC) during the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; and

(B) Fifty decibels (dBC) during the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.; and

(3) In areas zoned agriculture, country, or industrial, or designated a similar type of zoning, the maximum sound level shall be seventy decibels (dBC) during all hours of the day.

The maximum permissible sound level for areas that have not been designated a county zoning district shall be the lowest maximum permissible sound level applicable to comparable state land use districts; provided that the maximum permissible sound level for unzoned land within the state urban land use district shall be the sound levels set forth in paragraph (2). In areas with more than one county zoning designation, the lowest applicable maximum permissible sound levels shall apply.

(b) For the purposes of this section, sound level measurement shall be taken within three meters of the perimeter of the exterior of the establishment employing a sound level meter using the "C" weighting network. If the initial sound measurement taken in response to a complaint does not establish a violation, upon the complainant's request, an additional measurement may be taken at the complainant's site where the complainant alleges to have heard noise levels that exceed the maximum permissible sound levels established by this section.

(c) An establishment shall be in violation of this section if the sound level measured pursuant to subsection (b) is more than three decibels (dBC) louder than the ambient noise level for:

(1) Any two-minute segment within a measurement taken for a duration of at least ten minutes; or

(2) Any time segment, within a measurement taken for more than ten minutes, that is at least twenty per cent as long as the total duration of the measurement.

(d) Violations of this section or rules adopted pursuant to this section shall be enforced by summons or citation issued by a law enforcement officer, who shall employ a sound level meter using the "C" weighting network to investigate noise levels. The summons or citation shall:

(1) Be printed in the form described in this subsection, warning the purported violator to appear and answer to the charge against the person at a certain place and at a time within seven days after the issuance of the summons or citation;

(2) Be designed to provide for all necessary information. The form and content of the summons or citation shall be adopted or prescribed by the district environmental courts;

(3) Be given to the purported violator and the other copy or copies distributed in the manner prescribed by the district environmental courts; provided that the district environmental courts may prescribe alternative methods of distribution of the original and any other copies; and

(4) Be consecutively numbered and the carbon copy or copies of each shall bear the same number.

In the event any person fails to comply with a summons or citation issued to the person, the law enforcement officer who issued the summons or citation shall cause a complaint to be entered against the person and secure the issuance of a warrant for the person's arrest. Failure to comply with a summons or citation is a misdemeanor.

(e) As used in this section:

"Ambient noise" means the totality of sounds in a given place and time, independent of the sound contribution of any specific source of sound being measured.

"dBC" shall have the same meaning as defined in section 342F-1.

"Decibel" shall have the same meaning as defined in section 342F-1.

"Establishment" means a single physical location where the selling of liquor occurs and for which a license has been or is proposed to be issued, renewed, or transferred pursuant to chapter 281."

SECTION 2. Chapter 281, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part III to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§281- Revocation, suspension, or denial of license. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the commission may revoke or suspend a license, deny the application, renewal, or transfer of a license, or withhold issuance of a license, if the licensee or applicant, as applicable, fails to take corrective action that, to the commission's satisfaction and approval, addresses:

(1) Complaints from the public;

(2) Reports from the commission's investigators;

(3) Summons or citations issued pursuant to section 342F‑ ; or

(4) Adjudications of the commission or the liquor control adjudication board,

indicating that noise emitting from an establishment, adjacent outdoor areas under the control of the establishment, including parking lots or lanais, or patrons entering or departing from the establishment disturbs residents on the street or of the neighborhood in which the establishment is located, the noise exceeds the applicable maximum permissible sound levels set forth in the county's noise codes or commission rules, or intrudes into nearby residential units, or the establishment is in violation of section 342F- ."

SECTION 3. Section 281-61, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) Other than for good cause, the renewal of an existing license shall be granted upon the filing of an application; provided that if:

(1) Complaints from the public;

(2) Reports from the commission's investigators; [or]

(3) Summons or citations issued pursuant to section 342F‑ ; or

(4) Adjudications of the commission or the liquor control adjudication board,

indicate that noise [~~created by~~] emitting from the premises, adjacent outdoor areas under the control of the licensee, including parking lots or lanais, or patrons entering or departing from the premises disturbs residents on the street or of the neighborhood in which the premises are located, [~~or that~~] the noise [~~from the premises or adjacent related outdoor areas such as parking lots or lanais exceed standards contained in state or~~] exceeds the applicable maximum permissible sound levels set forth in the county noise codes or commission rules, or intrudes into nearby residential units, or the licensee is in violation of section 342F- , the commission may deny the renewal application or withhold the issuance of a renewed license until corrective measures meeting the commission's approval are taken."

SECTION 4. Section 342F-31.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§342F-31.5[]] Noise measurement; rules. (a) The department shall adopt rules in accordance with chapter 91 that shall use both the dBC and the dBA sound level measurement systems for community noise control. The department [~~and the~~], county liquor commissions, and law enforcement officers, pursuant to section 342F- , may enforce nighttime noise levels in any urban land use district measured from over fifty to sixty decibels, measured using the dBC weighting system, in certain areas they deem appropriate and not adversely affecting public health and safety.

(b) In any urban land use district, a sound level of more than [~~sixty~~] fifty decibels for bass sound (using the dBC weighting system), measured at a complainant's site, shall be deemed to exceed the maximum permissible sound at nighttime[~~; provided that, where the complainant's site is within or in close proximity to an area zoned mixed-use or residential, the maximum permissible sound at nighttime shall be fifty decibels dBC~~].

"Nighttime" means the time between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.; and

"Urban land use district" means property designated as such pursuant to section 205-2."

SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2124
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022		S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII