HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	50
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

urging the department of law enforcement to monitor the use of illegal fireworks at public parks and beaches.

WHEREAS, the proliferating use of illegal fireworks has become a growing concern for communities across the State; and

WHEREAS, in just two days, emergency rooms and hospitals in Hawaii treated 110 individuals on December 31, 2024, and January 1, 2025, including five fatalities, the highest visitation total since 2010, when there were 112 injuries; and

WHEREAS, according to 18 years of data from the Department of Health, injuries plunged immediately after a statewide ban on aerial fireworks was expanded on Oahu in 2011 to include virtually all consumer fireworks; and

WHEREAS, the fireworks restrictions imposed on Oahu through Ordinance 10-25 in 2011 helped reduce emergency room visits until January 1, 2025; and

WHEREAS, a study in 2022 of the effectiveness of that county ordinance on Oahu found "a significant association between stricter firework legislation and a decrease in firework-related injuries over a multiyear period"; and

WHEREAS, immediately after the ban, injuries on Oahu fell from 79 over New Year's Eve and Day in 2010-2011 to 14 in 2011-2012; and

WHEREAS, however, the firework injury incident rate in Hawaii more than doubled between 2011-2012 and 2021-2022 and has continued to climb; and

WHEREAS, the firework injury incident rate in Hawaii far outstripped a 17-percent increase nationwide over the same period, according to data from the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission; and

WHEREAS, Oahu accounted for 84 percent of the injuries on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day for 2025, and injuries on the Neighbor Islands were also higher than in 2024; and

WHEREAS, a massive and horrific fireworks explosion occurred at a New Year's Eve party at a home in Aliamanu, Oahu, at approximately 12:01 a.m. on January 1, 2025; and

WHEREAS, as of February 5, 2025, six fatalities have resulted from that tragic incident; and

WHEREAS, the number of injuries, which includes fatalities, on December 31, 2024, and January 1, 2025, was the highest since 2010-2011; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's per-capita rate of injuries treated in emergency rooms over the New Year's holiday -- 4.1 per 100,000 residents -- far exceeds the national average of 2.9 per 100,000, according to data collected by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission for 2023-2024, the most recent year for which national comparisons were available; and

WHEREAS, the use of illegal fireworks occurs at locations throughout Hawaii, including in public places, such as parks and beaches; and

WHEREAS, greater monitoring by law enforcement for the use of illegal fireworks at public parks and beaches would support public health and protect public safety; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that the Department of Law Enforcement is urged to monitor the use of illegal fireworks at public parks and beaches; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor and Director of Law Enforcement.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Department of Law Enforcement; Illegal Fireworks at Public Parks and Beaches; Monitoring