A bill barring smoking at major beaches in Waikiki, Ala Moana and East Honolulu and at Kapiolani Park is now poised for a final vote of the City Council after being approved by the Council’s Public Safety and Economic Development Committee on Tuesday.
Bill 72 (2012) bans smoking at Sandy Beach Park, Duke Paoa Kahanamoku Park, Kuhio Beach Park, Kapiolani Park including its beach park, and the beach side of Ala Moana Regional Park.
After several twists and turns, the measure now moves to the full Council for a final vote.
Supporters of the bill, introduced by East Honolulu Councilman Stanley Chang, argue that it is necessary for health reasons and also to cut down on discarded cigarette butts.
In an effort to appease those who questioned the efficacy of a ban, the committee Tuesday made a change to the bill that requires the Parks Department to report on the effectiveness of the prohibition at the end of 2013 and 2014.
The Waikiki Improvement Association and the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii promised to help with the reports.
Some, including Councilman Ikaika Anderson, are suggesting the ban should be islandwide.
But Chang said after the meeting that a ban on a limited area should be viewed as a pilot program. The studies looking at the bill’s effectiveness will give Council members a better understanding of how an islandwide ban might fare, he said.
Also given favorable consideration on Tuesday were:
» Bill 8 (2013), which attempts to make it clear that the public can "traverse" through city parks even when such facilities are closed. The bill, introduced by Councilman Ikaika Anderson, is designed to help fishing enthusiasts and others trying to reach the shoreline, as long as they are not conducting commercial activities. The Council’s Parks Committee approved the bill, which now goes to the Council for the second of three readings.
» Resolution 13-1, which paves the way for electronic benefit transfer point-of-sale terminals to be placed at the People’s Open Market locations, by the Parks Committee. Designed to help low-income families purchase fruits and vegetables from the city-run farmers markets around the island, the city is working with the state Department of Health to make terminals available. Beneficiaries would be able to obtain tokens with their EBT cards at the terminals and then use them as currency with vendors who could exchange them later for compensation. The federal government recently made it a requirement that EBT payments be made electronically, officials said. The Parks Committee approved the resolution, which now goes to the Council for a final vote.
» Resolution 13-27, which calls on city Auditor Edwin Young to conduct an audit of the Department of Customer Services’ Division of Motor Vehicles Licensing and Permits. Chang said he wants the auditor to come up with possible ways of dealing with long lines at city DMV offices in the wake of the city’s takeover of the state ID card program in January. Earlier Tuesday, Mayor Kirk Caldwell unveiled a city website where the public can view cameras showing the length of the lines at each of the DMV sites. The Parks Committee approved the measure, which now goes to the Council for a final vote.
