HB 35 Summary

• Establishes a shipping container inspection program under the Department of Public Safety to randomly inspect containers arriving in Honolulu for illegal fireworks and explosives, with implementation required by October 1, 2021.

• Requires the inspection program to utilize explosive-sniffing dogs, prioritize high-risk containers, inspect all legal fireworks containers, and include at least two explosive-sniffing dogs.

• Imposes shipping container import fees of $1 per container beginning July 1, 2021, increasing to $2 per container beginning July 1, 2022, with all fees deposited into a new shipping container inspection program special fund.

• Creates the shipping container inspection program special fund to receive legislative appropriations, donations, grants, and shipping container import fees for program support and administration.

• Increases the maximum penalty for fireworks law violations from $2,000 to $5,000 per violation, while maintaining existing penalties for specific violations under section 132D-14.5.