EDITORIAL: Enforceability key for fireworks law

Gov. Josh Green, with state Attorney General Anne Lopez and other officials, has sketched out plans for proposed changes to Hawaii’s fireworks laws, modifications designed to streamline enforcement and goose penalties in a bid to better protect residents. The announcement Tuesday came just two weeks after a New Year’s disaster set off a cache of illegal pyrotechnics at an Aliamanu home, killing three adults and a 3-year-old boy and leaving dozens badly injured.

The considered response by officials is, in context, many days late and many dollars short. Lofty but altogether unreasonable laws enacted in 2011 hindered enforcement and prosecution, did not serve as a deterrent and failed as a palliative measure to a potentially deadly problem. Indeed, the pyrotechnics ban and lack of enforcement had an altogether opposite effect, with larger, more sophisticated — and dangerous — aerials becoming increasingly prevalent. None of the shortcomings, which quickly became evident as illegal fireworks use boomed over the past decade, were remedied, and Band-Aid solutions introduced at various levels of government were fingers in the dike. And in Salt Lake on Jan. 1, a spark lit the powder keg.

There is no question — fireworks bans, if they are to exist, must be vigorously enforced and offenders prosecuted to the maximum extent allowed by law.

Green on Tuesday said it is difficult to convict scofflaws under the language and construction of existing laws. As it stands, forensic evidence and an expert witness are prerequisites for conviction, but those requirements would be eschewed under proposed legislation. Removal of such hurdles is warranted.

According to a 2023 study by an online news organization, 94% of fireworks citations handed out on Oahu between 2018 and 2022 were dropped, and the 15 successfully prosecuted cases resulted in about $1,000 in fines.

Green’s proposal introduces a new infraction-level offense and accompanying $300 fine that might be handed out similar to a traffic ticket. Considering past failed attempts to bring the situation under control by setting felony-level repercussions, which call for onerous and stringent criminal proceedings, a less arduous path is welcome.

Still, $300 per infraction feels hollow, especially when other violations of law can carry punitive fines of up to $1,000. A maximum civil penalty must be assigned to fireworks infractions to dissuade further use and to disrupt illegal trade. More severe cases involving bodily harm or death should carry commensurate penalties — so it’s good to see proposed bump-up of some charges to Class B or Class A felonies.

Instituting a fireworks infraction is a start, but much more must be done to disincentivize purchase, hoarding and use of dangerous pyrotechnics. Since 2011, illegal aerials and ground-based fireworks have poured through Hawaii’s porous borders, as evidenced by spectacular annual displays in too many Oahu communities. And with smuggling operations active throughout the year, stockpiles of explosives — which deteriorate rapidly and become less stable each year — pose a tangible risk to residential neighborhoods. It is, quite literally, a collection of bombs hidden away in houses across the island.

The joint Illegal Fireworks Task Force was created under the state Department of Law Enforcement (DLE) in 2023 and that year seized 93.5 tons of so-called 1.3G pyrotechnics. Early success faded, however, with only about 24 tons confiscated in 2024, nearly all of which can be attributed to a bust in February. DLE is now seeking to create an Explosive Enforcement Unit under the fireworks task force as part of a multipronged approach covering import, distribution and public education.

One agency alone cannot stand against an influx of contraband, nor can it hope to draw down supply already in the hands of residents. Only a top-to-bottom effort can stamp out fireworks use — with the public’s considerable help — through the creation of workable legislation and ironclad enforcement.