Council mulls veto override for fireworks bill

The Honolulu City Council today is set to consider a possible veto override of a fireworks measure Mayor Rick Blangiardi officially blew up late last month.

Adopted by a majority of the Council in early October to allow ground-level fountains and sparklers to be lit in public on Oahu by lifting the city's partial fireworks ban, Bill 22 was formally vetoed by the mayor on Oct. 25.

Citing the Honolulu Fire Department's prior opposition to the measure, Blangiardi asserted Bill 22's enactment by the Council risked public safety.

In a written message to the Council, Blangiardi claimed that given HFD's "strong opposition, and with an eye toward increasingly drier weather conditions and ever-worsening wildfire concerns, I stand in support of our firefighters and first responders and cannot in good conscience allow Bill 22 to become law."

"For these reasons, I am returning Bill 22 with my veto, and urge you to sustain it, " the mayor wrote.

But the mayor's veto and stated concerns over public safety are not preventing the Council from trying to adopt the fireworks measure again.

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By city law, the Council's possible veto override of Bill 22 requires its reconsideration to be passed by an affirmative vote of not less than two-thirds of the entire membership of the Council—or six of the nine members.

If successful, "the bill shall then become an ordinance with like effect as if it had been signed by the mayor.

If the bill fails to receive the vote of at least two-thirds of the entire membership of the council, it shall be deemed finally lost, " Honolulu's City Charter states.

The Council action is something that's not occurred at Honolulu Hale since the summer of 2020.

Under then-mayor Kirk Caldwell, a prior Council tried to revive a vetoed measure, Bill 3, related to the establishment of a so-called "Keep Hawaii Hawaii " pass program, but failed to receive the two-thirds vote necessary to resurrect it.

The Blangiardi administration is hoping for a similar outcome on Bill 22.

"The mayor strongly believes it is not in the best interest of the public to legalize the use of additional fireworks, " Scott Humber, the mayor's communications director, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Wednesday. "The mayor hopes the Council will seriously review and consider the testimony of our city's first responders in their re-deliberation on this matter."

But Council member Calvin Say, who introduced Bill 22 in April, said his measure posed no threat to the public.

"The mayor has his justifications on the veto, " Say previously told the Star-Advertiser, "but I thought that it was a very simple measure, meaning it's not those types of fireworks that cause the trouble as far as fires."

He added Bill 22, if enacted, will "really benefit the community."

"Because in this particular case sparklers and fountains are not the major contributor to the illegal aerial fireworks, " Say said. "And it's not ones that are going to be transmitted by air to other parts of the neighborhood."

On Oct. 9 the Council voted 8-1, with Matt Weyer dissenting, on the third and final reading for Bill 22.

Besides fireworks use by the public, Bill 22 also had established requirements relating to retailers and sites licensed to import, store and sell display fireworks or firecrackers, the bill states.

The bill, however, kept aerial fireworks illegal.

That action meant previously banned "consumer fireworks " could be legally sold to those with permits, during designated periods like New Year's Eve and the Fourth of July.

The possession and use of fountains, sparklers, aerial fireworks and other consumer fireworks has not been legally permitted on Oahu since a partial pyrotechnics ban took effect in 2011.

A firecracker permit and valid identification are required to purchase and use firecrackers. A person must be at least 18 years old to obtain a firecracker permit.

Bill 22 has received strong support from the business community.

TNT Fireworks, which claims to be the largest distributor of fireworks in the United States and an importer and seller of legal consumer fireworks in Hawaii for over 50 years, is among the measure's chief proponents.

And in June, Retail Merchants of Hawaii President Tina Yamaki told the Council, "Fireworks hold a significant cultural importance in Hawaii's Asian culture, (to ward ) off evil spirits and ushering in good luck."

"Allowing retailers to sell legal consumer fireworks and enabling the community to celebrate with these fireworks would be greatly appreciated, " she said. "Many legitimate retailers depend on the sale of legal fireworks, knowing that the buyers must obtain permits before purchase."

Yamaki added that a "complete ban on the fireworks imposes an additional financial burden on a lot of these law-abiding retailers, many of whom are still struggling to stay afloat."

Others disagree.

In written testimony submitted to the Council before today's meeting, longtime Chinatown resident Lynne Matusow wrote, "With the exception of Mayor Blangiardi and Council member Weyer, I think you have all gone mad."

"You are pandering to the fireworks manufacturers, salespersons, and others who want to set off noise making, fire source devices under the guise that it is 'cultural, '" she wrote. "Shame on you for not listening to the fire department and the mayor."

"Shame on you for not paying attention to the wildfire that destroyed Lahaina and the attendant grief and hurt for many of Maui's residents. Shame on you for not realizing that the same can happen on Oahu, with larger consequences. Shame on you for not considering what will happen to currently astronomical insurance rates when one of these 'cultural' devices sets off a fire, kills people, scares and kills animals, (and ) terrorizes those with PTSD, including many veterans, increasing their trauma, " Matusow wrote.

The Council meets at 10 a.m. in the City Council's Chambers.