Latest news with #HouseBill806
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fireworks legislation awaits Gov. Green's signature
The year-old state Department of Law Enforcement would get new funding and an increased mandate to crack down on illegal fireworks under pending legislation, which has Pearl City resident Larry Veray hopeful the level of pyrotechnic explosions in isle neighborhoods will decline during holiday celebrations. Veray, 75, flew on reconnaissance missions over Vietnam as a Navy electronic warfare operator. Decades after the war, he's transported back to his days in combat whenever he's outside watching explosions go off in the hillsides around Pearl City on New Year's Eve, and less so on the Fourth of July when parties are more subdued. 'It just brings back the memories, ' Veray said. 'It's the loud explosions, the big booms, because that's how it was in Da Nang. … I do know vets that have other issues, like the guys that were boots on the ground in Vietnam or Iraq who had those roadside bombs going off. You never know if today's your day.' Others also have long complained about explosions and aerial fireworks triggering breathing problems or causing eye irritations—and from pet owners whose dogs and cats shudder in fear or even run away to escape the barrage. Stephanie Kendrick, director of community engagement for the Hawaiian Humane Society, wrote in support of the latest version of House Bill 806, which would provide $500, 000 to the DLE in fiscal year 2025-2026 and again in the 2026-2027 fiscal year to conduct fireworks 'sting ' operations on Oahu and create an explosives and firearms laboratory. 'The ample evidence that tons of illegal fireworks are still making it onto the local black market despite the successful interdictions at our ports shows that the magnitude of this problem is staggering, ' Kendrick wrote. 'Hawaiian Humane has long educated our community about keeping pets safe from the terror of fireworks around New Years and July 4, but these bombs increasingly go off for months at a time without warning. That makes it impossible for pet owners to prepare and creates sustained stress on people and animals, which can do lasting damage to their emotional, mental and physical health.' If various fireworks bills are approved by Gov. Josh Green, along with increased DLE funding in the state budget, the department would create an eight-person undercover unit and train and support law enforcement on the neighbor islands, and be able to use drone imagery as probable cause for the first time to issue citations or even make arrests. The state Legislature also passed a bill that increases the penalties for illegal fireworks, including making it a class A felony for causing injury or death. 'Right now, it's so out of control, ' DLE Director Mike Lambert told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 'I think people will get the message that this is serious. It's very possible you can be caught and prosecuted.' When he was a major with the Honolulu Police Department, Lambert served separate stints overseeing HPD's narcotics /vice division and the Ke Kula Maka 'i police academy. He said he has zero tolerance for any officer or firefighter involved in—or who tolerates—Hawaii's illegal, multimillion-dollar fireworks trade. 'To me it's offensive to be a first responder and then create the issue, ' he said, adding that he would have no problem arresting an officer or firefighter involved in illegal fireworks. Lambert said he also would like to send a message to the community by arresting or citing any government official who ignores their responsibility to seize or report illegal fireworks. 'If it does lead to government corruption, we're going to go all out, ' he said. More than a nuisance Calls for greater enforcement efforts were taken much more seriously when the Legislature convened just two weeks after the deadly blast at a New Year's Eve party in Aliamanu that killed six people, injured or maimed dozens of others and led to arrests. Among the dead was a 3-year-old boy, which hit home for Lambert, who has a child the same age. He said he believes the deaths, the scope of the injuries and the series of arrests that followed may change public tolerance of their neighbors' illegal behavior. 'Previous to Aliamanu, it was viewed as a nuisance, ' Lambert said. 'Now people truly see it as a threat to life. When you're disfigured for life, there's no amount of plastic surgery to undo that.' He called fireworks 'gun powder in a tube ' that are sometimes stored at home, where they could be set off by mistake, endangering a neighborhood. Since Aliamanu and the Legislature's push for greater enforcement, Lambert feels the increased responsibility on DLE and described it as 'a huge amount of pressure. The stakes are high because of the injuries and death.' He declined to go into specifics about the operational tactics of the eight-member undercover unit but said the first two investigators who have been hired so far have 'extensive covert investigative experience with HPD.' Lambert provided no other details on the as-of-yet unnamed unit, other than to say : 'They will be participating in the trade—how about that ?' Mounting casualties In 2000, the Legislature banned aerial fireworks for consumers. On Dec. 30 of that same year, however, an illegal aerial ignited a blaze that burned down the Palolo Valley home of Lillian Herring, 81, killing her and her two dogs. Then in 2011, the Honolulu City Council banned all consumer fireworks, except for limited amounts of firecrackers that are legally allowed only with permits. What followed was a literal and figurative explosion in black-market, professional-grade pyrotechnics and aerials that has seen people blow off fingers and thumbs, and even die. In fact, last New Year's Eve, 20-year-old Jayson Ramos died from a fireworks blast on Lukela Lane in Kalihi. Other casualties included a 14-year-old boy who suffered burns to his hand from an apparent fireworks blast at Mayor Wright Homes, and a 34-year-old man who suffered a 'traumatic hand injury ' from a suspected fireworks explosion at an undisclosed location. Lambert agrees that Hawaii's fireworks situation has gotten out of control and rejects arguments that people are merely honoring Asian cultural traditions. 'My grandmother's full Chinese and we had red firecrackers ' and the occasional bottle rocket, said Lambert, who grew up in Kaneohe. He recalled that once the clock struck 12 :15 a.m., 'Grandpa was like, 'Nuff already.' We would get scoldings if we did it any other time of the year.' 'Now we're talking 6-inch stadium shells or straight-out bombs that go off all night, ' he said. 'That's not what I remember.' Community vigilance Veray knows Lambert from the latter's days as HPD's narcotics /vice commander and said he's a good fit to be in charge of fireworks undercover operations and building cases to move up the fireworks supply chain, from customers to distributors and perhaps importers. 'We need to find who is distributing this, ' Veray said. 'Who's the kingpin ?' Veray has documented drug deals in Pearl City and worked with Lambert in the past. He welcomes the DLE director's pledge to go after first responders and government officials who violate fireworks regulations. Veray's doing his part as well to keep his community safe, running his Neighborhood Watch, chairing the Pearl City Neighborhood Board and serving as president of his Waiau Gardens Kai-B homeowners association, where any resident or visitor faces a $500 fine every time they light a single firecracker or even a sparkler. In the days leading up to each Fourth of July and New Year's Eve, Veray pounds warning signs into the ground around the complex. 'Never, ' said Veray when asked how many times fines have been issued. But it's a different story outside his condo association. Asked how early Pearl City residents begin lighting bombs and aerials before New Year's Eve, Veray replied : 'October.' He agrees with Lambert that the Aliamanu tragedy may have convinced other neighbors to stop ignoring illegal pyrotechnics in their communities and start reporting them. 'There are a lot of people now thinking about what can happen in their neighborhoods, ' he said. 'We've got to take back Hawaii.' So for this year's Fourth of July and New Year's Eve celebrations, Veray hopes that illegal fireworks users start looking over their shoulders, worried about who might be reporting them to law enforcement to face increased prosecution and penalties. 'Now, ' Veray said, 'they don't know who's going to turn them in.'
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Legislative session ends with hotel, cruise ship room tax increase to aid Hawaii's climate fight
Tourists—and local residents—who book hotel rooms and cruise ship cabins will begin providing $90 million to $100 million annually in new funding for Hawaii to adapt to climate change and prevent future wildfires, under legislation that Gov. Josh Green plans to sign into law. The proposed increase in Hawaii's so-called hotel room tax would begin on Jan. 1 after it passed out of the Legislature on Friday, the final day of the 2025 legislative session. It follows the Aug. 8, 2023, Maui wildfires that killed 102 people. But Green has been pushing legislators to come up with a new source of funding to combat climate change since his first legislative session as governor three years ago. It was just one of 259 bills that the House and Senate sent to Green in the final days of the legislative session that addresses new and sometimes long-standing issues. Sometimes it can take the Legislature several sessions to pass bills that come up each session, said political analyst Neal Milner. But in many instances, he said, action only results following major events. On some issues this year, Milner said, legislators 'made an attempt to satisfy public opinion and show they're serious.' For instance, millions of dollars in new state funding for fireworks enforcement follows years of complaints from neighbors about illegal explosions and aerial fireworks. This year, legislators funded new efforts to crack down on illegal fireworks after the deaths of six people during a New Year's Eve party in Aliamanu that also injured dozens of others, followed by arrests. The state budget approved by the Legislature last week includes over $5.2 million and eight positions for an Explosive Enforcement Section 'to disrupt the illegal fireworks trade in Hawaii by coordinating operations, seizures and sharing resources, ' Rep. Shirley Ann Templo (D, Kalihi-Kalihi Kai-Hickam Village ) said on the House floor. 'Its focus is on reducing the availability and use of illegal fireworks, as well as combating related crime.' The budget also includes $2.4 million for an 'Illegal Fireworks Task Force to provide extra resources and support to help reduce the use of illegal fireworks, improving public safety and minimizing related hazards, ' Templo said. 'With these investments, we reaffirm our commitment to keeping Hawaii safe.'—RELATED : House Bill 806 also would provide $500, 000 to the state Department of Law Enforcement to conduct sting operations on Oahu to catch fireworks violators. The bill also would lead to an explosives and firearms laboratory on Oahu. HB 550 would allow law enforcement to use drone images to establish probable cause for arrests under the Fireworks Control Law to help in investigations and prosecutions. And HB 1483 would update definitions and penalties for fireworks offenses, including tougher penalties if anyone 'suffers substantial bodily injury, serious bodily injury, or death as a result of the fireworks offenses.' The larger push on fireworks enforcement likely will have little effect on the upcoming July 4 celebrations, Milner said. 'The real test, ' he said, will come this New Year's Eve. If DLE gets approval for a new undercover fireworks sting unit, Milner said, 'They'll need some time to gear up.' Tourism impacts Hawaii's tourism industry has been pushing back on the last three years of efforts to primarily charge tourists to generate new revenue for Hawaii to adapt to climate change. Whenever the cost to visit rises, 'everybody cringes, ' said Jerry Gibson, president of the Hawai 'i Hotel Alliance. 'As you add taxation, as we have through the years, you always have to look at how it affects occupancies.' If Green approves increasing Hawaii's Transient Accommodation Tax, it would rise to 11 % from 10.25 % on top of the 3 % tax that each county already charges, resulting in an overall 14 % TAT. But Gibson said, 'I definitely trust the governor because he has a keen sense of tourism, and I believe this money will help. Gov. Green, I believe, values tourism and he understands that we need help, environmental help, to prevent fires. He has said he will help tourism on all islands.' The $90 million to $100 million estimated to be generated annually would have to be equally divided into three buckets : 'natural resource management, climate-related disaster mitigation and mitigating tourism impacts on the natural environment.' Green has told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that Hawaii needs $500 million to $600 million annually to prevent future wildfires, offset the environmental effects of tourism and adapt to climate change, which has caused beach erosion and seen oceanfront homes crash onto beaches. At the start of the legislative session that just ended, Green hoped to generate $200 million in new revenue by increasing the TAT and by using all of the $60 million or so in interest on the state's $1.5 billion 'rainy day fund.' But legislators reduced Green's original TAT increase and killed his idea to dedicate all of the rainy day fund interest to offset climate change, likely to give themselves an added financial cushion to help cover additional cuts in federal funding that already include reductions for Hawaii nonprofit organizations, Milner said. But Gibson has faith that Green can use the new $90 million to $100 million in increased TAT to leverage it through funding mechanisms to come close to his $200 million annual goal. 'There's a lot of different ways, ' Gibson said. 'It's a good place to start.' Failed bills Notably, Milner said, legislators killed all efforts this year aimed at 'clean government, ' including several that would affect them directly. Bills that died included : creating a task force to study the possibility of creating a year-round Legislature like the City Council ; impose term limits on the Legislature, the only elected body where members can run for reelection indefinitely ; and increasing the amount of public funds available to political candidates, which proponents argue would make it easier for people to run for county and state offices. On Friday, House Speaker Nadine Nakamura did not dismiss the idea of reconsidering bills that died, saying that some proposals can take six to seven years to reach consensus. Clean government reform efforts followed the 2022 federal guilty pleas of former Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English and then-Rep. Ty T.J. Cullen. English and Cullen, both Democrats, admitted to accepting cash, casino chips, Las Vegas hotel rooms and dinners in exchange for influencing legislation to benefit a company involved in publicly financed cesspool conversion projects. In response, then-House Speaker Scott Saiki created the Commission to Improve Standards of Conduct, led by retired Intermediate Court of Appeals Chief Judge Dan Foley, which made 28 recommendations that resulted in 20 bills becoming law in 2023. But progress has largely stalled since. In particular this year, legislators killed a bill that would make it illegal for state and county contractors—and their immediate family members—from making campaign contributions while their companies are under contract for county or state projects. It also would require the names of any officers or their immediate family members to be disclosed in certain circumstances. Common Cause Hawaii represented one of the loudest advocates for further 'clean government ' reforms this year. When the session ended on Friday, Common Cause Hawaii State Director Camron Hurt said in a statement : 'At a time when Hawaiians are demanding their lawmakers fight back against attacks on our democracy, our Legislature failed to act. It's embarrassing that the Legislature didn't pass anything to improve access to voting or keep foreign corporations out of our home politics. While some legislators voiced support for these bills, words of support aren't enough—we the people demand real, meaningful action. Common Cause Hawaii will continue our efforts to hold our elected officials accountable and return power back to the people.' But Common Cause noted that the new state budget includes money for the Campaign Spending Commission to expand for the first time since statehood. 'This funding will ensure the Commission can maintain the integrity and transparency of the campaign finance process, ' Common Cause said. Milner believes that future efforts aimed at political and campaign reform will continue to fail, along with the perennial attempts to legalize adult use of recreational marijuana. He was surprised that a bill to collect state tax revenue from online sports gambling made it to the final days of the legislative session, which would break Hawaii's ban on any form of legalized gambling. Unlike supporters of legalized marijuana, Milner said gambling lobbyists are much more sophisticated and better funded. This year, Milner said, 'Gambling rallied.' In the end, though, Milner said, 'Gambling was thrown out in a rundown between third and home.' But the fact that at least one of the perennial gambling bills came down to the wire means there will be a renewed push to legalize some form of gambling next year, Milner said. A new era for Hawaii will come if Green signs a bill allowing naming rights on the Hawai 'i Convention Center and a new Aloha Stadium in a state that bans outdoor advertising. 'That is a big change for Hawaii, ' Milner said. But Milner doubts that Oahu will soon see billboards hanging over the H-1 Freeway following decades of successful lobbying by the Outdoor Circle. For legislators, Milner said, 'Not having billboards in this state is like believing in God. They don't want to have to deal with the Outdoor Circle. I haven't seen much pressure for billboards.'
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New NC bill would allow public schools to hire unlicensed teachers
North Carolina public schools may soon be able to hire unlicensed teachers. The Raleigh News & Observer reports it's part House Bill 806, which was filed Monday and sponsored by local Republican state representative Tricia Cotham. Under the bill, only 50 percent of teachers would have to have a license at each school. Right now, that number is 100 percent, the Raleigh News & Observer says. ALSO READ: NC State Board of Education appeals $17M funding halt for school upgrades The 'Public School Operational Relief' bill would also drop Kindergarten through third grade class-size limits, changing them instead to class-size 'recommendations.' The Raleigh News & Observer says a state report released last week showed the teacher turnover rate was nearly 10 percent. That means nearly one out of every 10 teachers left the profession between March 2023 and March 2024, The Raleigh News & Observer reports. Read more here. WATCH BELOW: Both sides weigh in on statewide concealed carry legislation
