After retailers and police officers said that current fines for unlawful peddling are not high enough to deter violators, the Honolulu City Council is considering a bill that would up the fines for illegal peddling.
Bill 52, sponsored by Chair Tommy Waters, would increase fines from $100 to $500, $250 to $750 and $500 to $1,000 depending on how frequently the violation occurred. The goal of the bill is to “discourage unlawful peddling and ensure adequate pedestrian access in public places.”
The Department of Customer Services currently licenses 49 peddlers, according to spokesperson Bill Powers. Licenses cost $60 and are not required for people peddling fresh fish, fresh fruit, fresh lei, fresh flowers or fresh vegetables, and for people 60-years-old and older, according to city code.
City code makes it unlawful to peddle on sections of the Pali Highway, Diamond Head Road, Fort Street Mall, Union Street Mall, Waimea Bay, Chinatown and the Waikīkī Peninsula.
The bill passed second reading Wednesday morning and was referred to the International and Legal Affairs Committee. Councilmembers Augie Tulba, Andria Tupola and Matt Weyer voted with reservations.
Councilmembers Tyler Dos Santos-Tam and Tupola said that they plan to reach out to Honolulu Police Department and get more information on how peddling is currently enforced.
Dos Santos-Tam said during the council meeting that they should “look at the enforcement provision, how our existing law is enforced, what obstacles we have in enforcing these, because if it’s not being enforced at all, raising the fines may not end up deterring these folks anyway if they’re going to get a stern talking to and told to go away.”
Tupola said she wants to get a better understanding of where on Oʻahu illegal peddling is an issue and what enforcement efforts currently look like.
“I want to make sure that if we’re putting these laws on the books, we’re increasing these fines, that HPD has definitely seen that fine is not enough and it’s not deterring the illegal activity,” she said.
Honolulu Police Department Major Paul Okamoto advocated for the City to regulate peddling in Waikīkī in a letter to the council.
“One challenge we face in effectively regulating peddling is that the current penalty is not a sufficient deterrence to many operators who engage in it. Many see the current fines merely as ʻa cost of doing business’ and are not dissuaded from continuing their operations,” Okamoto wrote. “Imposing stiffer fines and consequences and removing the financial incentive will help improve this problem and assist us in our efforts to keep Waikīkī a safe and desirable travel destination.”
Okamoto told the Waikīkī neighborhood board in April that officers cited multiple people and arrested a person on felony drug charges during a peddling operation.
John Mark Mageo, employee relations and government affairs manager for Hawaiʻi’s ABC Stores, supported the proposal to increase fines and agreed with Okamoto that the fines for unlawful peddling are the “cost of doing business” for some violators.
“For businesses that operate in compliance with City and County requirements, the ongoing presence of illegal kiosks and unlawful peddling creates a real hardship. These operations can obstruct sidewalks, affect pedestrian flow, and create an unfair environment for businesses that follow the rules, maintain proper permits, pay rent, employ local workers, and contribute taxes back into the community,” he wrote in a letter to the council.
Retail Merchants of Hawaiʻi Interim President and CEO David Erdman wrote in a letter to the council that Bill 52 would create a stronger enforcement tool against unlawful peddling in public places.
“When an individual can be cited, pay a relatively small fine and then return to the same location and resume the same unlawful activity, the existing penalty is not providing an effective deterrent. A fine that is too low can simply become a cost of continuing to operate illegally,” he wrote.
Erdman compared the fines to the costs that legitimate businesses face, such as taxes, wages, insurance, utilities, licensing, permitting costs and more.
“Those conducting unlawful commercial activity in public spaces should not be allowed to create an unfair competitive environment for retailers that make these investments, provide jobs, contribute taxes to our community, and meet their legal and financial obligations. This is particularly frustrating when unlawful peddling occurs immediately outside a retailer that is paying substantial costs to legally operate at that location,” Erdman wrote. “Our concern is not with legitimate businesses operating legally and in appropriate locations. It is with commercial activity that violates existing City regulations and with repeat violations that continue when the consequences are insufficient to deter the activity.”
Trevor Abarzua, president and chief executive officer of the Waikīkī Improvement Association, wrote that the bill would support Hawaiʻi’s economy by protecting Waikīkī’s reputation and advocated for “lawful, safe, accessible, and respectful” commercial activity in public spaces.
“The current penalties do not provide a meaningful deterrent for operators who can earn considerably more through their unlawful activity,” he wrote.
Haley Lehman can be reached at haley@alohastatedaily.com.
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