STAND. COM. REP. NO. 918-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2503

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 2503 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FIREWORKS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Authorize civil asset forfeiture related to fireworks offenses involving fireworks with a total weight of twenty-five pounds or more;

(2) Amend the definition of "aerial device"; and

(3) Clarify that the offense of sending or receiving fireworks or articles pyrotechnic by air delivery applies regardless of whether the offender accompanies the air delivery.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of the Attorney General; Department of Law Enforcement; Hawaiian Humane Society; Animal Interfaith Alliance in Britain; and numerous individuals.

Your Committee finds that illegal fireworks continue to threaten public safety in the State. In 2025, the Legislature passed Act 243, Session Laws of Hawaii 2025, to bolster the State's laws on illegal fireworks and provide increased penalties and tools for enforcement. This measure continues to strengthen Hawaii's fireworks laws by allowing civil forfeiture on certain violations, broadening the definition of "aerial device", and closing a loophole on the air shipment of illegal fireworks.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the circumstances in which civil asset forfeiture is authorized to include fireworks offenses that constitute felonies;

(2) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2503, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2503, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________

DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair