Story perspectives

Bill 53 Targets Carts With $2,000 Fines, Jail

8/19/2026

Summary

Story summary

Tommy Waters introduced Bill 53 to criminalize possession of carts, fines up to $2,000 or 30 days jail and confiscation.
The bill cleared its reading on Aug. 12, while Police Major Paul Okamoto warned that abandoned carts clog streams.
Retail Merchants of Hawai‘i CEO Dave Erdman said carts cost to replace and should be treated as stolen.
Critics argue the law would criminalize homeless people and note inmate incarceration costs $112,000 per year.

History

Historical Context

The 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, signed by President Bill Clinton, provided $9.7 billion for prisons and added 100,000 police officers, fueling a bipartisan “tough-on-crime” push that expanded incarceration. In 2024 Representative Tommy Waters introduced Hawaii’s Bill 53, backed by Police Major Paul Okamoto and Retail Merchants of Hawai‘i CEO Dave Erdman, to criminalize abandoned carts, prompting fears of similar cost and jail-population growth.

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Story summary

Tommy Waters introduced Bill 53 to criminalize possession of carts, fines up to $2,000 or 30 days jail and confiscation.
The bill cleared its reading on Aug. 12, while Police Major Paul Okamoto warned that abandoned carts clog streams.
Retail Merchants of Hawai‘i CEO Dave Erdman said carts cost to replace and should be treated as stolen.
Critics argue the law would criminalize homeless people and note inmate incarceration costs $112,000 per year.

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