HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

228

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

Requesting That each county establish aN ILLEGAL fireworks hotline program.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, fireworks are used throughout the state of Hawaii as a means of celebration and festivity for social, cultural, and recreational purposes; and

 

     WHEREAS, in many instances residents use illegal fireworks that not only are a public nuisance to residents, but cause serious injury to those who use them improperly or without the necessary knowledge; and

 

     WHEREAS, in recent years the number of illegal fireworks used throughout the state has grown exponentially, with the number of permits to use fireworks legally lessening year by year and last year; and

 

     WHEREAS, in a 2009 arrest the police – working with the Fire Department, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Coast Guard and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – recovered 589 cases of illegal fireworks weighing 13,400 pounds with a street value of about $150,000 to $200,000; and

    

     WHEREAS, fireworks, especially those that are deemed illegal cause discomfort and distress to young children, individuals suffering from disabilities, pets, senior citizens, and those suffering from asthma and respiratory illnesses; and

 

     WHEREAS, in December of 2009, Honolulu Police Department Chief of Police Louis Kealoha issued a public statement asking for the public's help in catching culprits that are using illegal fireworks; now, therefore,

    

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, the Senate concurring, that each county is requested to establish, through county ordinance, an illegal fireworks hotline program to report violations of Section 132D-5 of the Hawaii Revised Statues; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each county make available a confidential an illegal fireworks hotline for the purpose of accepting calls from persons wishing to report use of illegal fireworks, and that an informant calling into the fireworks hotline may pass along information of a violation of this chapter anonymously or not; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that there be established within the state fire council for administrative purposes an illegal fireworks hotline to stop the importation of illegal fireworks, and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if the informant chooses to pass along information of a violation of this chapter anonymously, such information be transmitted to the police department of the county the informant resides in, and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each county is requested to assign one representative whose duty shall include the investigation of firework use violations; and

 

                BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, the Mayor of the County of Hawaii, the Mayor of the County of Maui, and the Mayor of the County of Kauai.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Illegal fireworks; hotline program