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HB1636
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H.B. NO.
1636
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating
to shopping carts
.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
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SECTION
1.
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The legislature finds that increasing
incidents of shopping carts being removed from the premises of local businesses
have generated community concern regarding the accumulation of abandoned
shopping carts in public spaces.
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The
legislature further finds that while existing law prohibits the unauthorized
removal of shopping carts from the premises of local businesses, there is no
mechanism for counties to recover cleanup costs or incentivize local businesses
to retrieve their property.
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The legislature
believes that the implementation of appropriate security measures by businesses
that provide shopping carts can reduce the incidence of shopping cart
abandonment and the associated impacts on communities.
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Accordingly,
the purpose of this Act is to:
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(1)
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Require
every business establishment that provides a shopping cart to mark each cart
with identifying information;
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(2)
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Authorize
a county to impound and dispose of a shopping cart and assess impound fees,
storage fees, and disposal fees under certain circumstances; and
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(3)
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Authorize
the counties to return a shopping cart, in lieu of impoundment, to the business
establishment, subject to certain fines.
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SECTION 2.
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Chapter 46, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by adding a new part to be appropriately designated and to read as
follows:
"
Part .
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regulation of shopping carts and similar
devices
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�46-A
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Definitions.
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As used in this part,
unless the context otherwise requires:
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"Business establishment"
means any business that provides shopping carts for customer use, regardless of
whether the business is:
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(1)
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Advertised or
operated as a retail or wholesale business; and
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(2)
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Open to the
general public, a private club or business, or a membership store.
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"Owner" means the owner or
retailer identified by an identification sign on a shopping cart.
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"Security measures" means
methods designed to prevent the unauthorized removal of a shopping cart from
the premises of a business establishment or to facilitate its return,
including:
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(1)
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Electronically
activated self-braking wheels on a shopping cart;
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(2)
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A pole or other
physical barrier mounted to a shopping cart that prevents the removal of the
cart from the interior of the business establishment;
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(3)
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Utilization of a
patrol and retrieval company that recovers shopping carts on behalf of the
business establishment, within a two-mile radius of the contracting business
establishment, no fewer than two times per week; and
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(4)
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Security personnel
whose duties include control and retention of shopping carts.
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"Shopping
cart" means a device used by customers to temporarily hold items for
purchase and includes shopping baskets and other similar devices.
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�46-B
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Labeling requirements.
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(a)
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Every business establishment that provides a
shopping cart
for customer use shall permanently and conspicuously mark each
shopping cart with identifying information that includes, at minimum, the
business establishment's name or logo.
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(b)
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Each
county shall assess a fine, to be determined by ordinance, for violation of
this section.
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46-C
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Impoundment; disposal; notification; fee;
fee deferral.
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(a)
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A
county may impound a shopping cart as follows:
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(1)
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After three
business days, if the shopping cart:
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(A)
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Is located beyond the premises or parking area
of the business establishment to which it belongs; and
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(B)
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Is not retrieved within three business days of
the owner's receipt of notice from the county regarding the discovery of the
shopping cart and its location; or
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(2)
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Immediately, if
the:
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(A)
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Location of the
shopping cart on public or private property impedes emergency services; or
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(B)
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Shopping cart has
been abandoned on private land within the county and the owner or occupant of
the land consents to the impoundment.
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(b)
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The county shall notify in writing the owner of each shopping cart that
is subject to prospective impoundment under subsection (a)(1) or that has been
impounded under subsection (a)(2) if the shopping cart has affixed to it the
signage required by section 46-B.
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The
county clerk may establish by rule a process for owners to register a preferred
method of notification.
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If delivered by
United States mail, the notice shall be deemed to have been received three
business days after mailing.
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(c)
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The notice shall include the following information:
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(1)
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In the case of a
prospective impoundment under subsection (a)(1):
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(A)
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That the owner has three business days from
the date of receipt of the notice to retrieve the shopping cart; and
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(B)
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That failure to timely retrieve the shopping
cart may result in impoundment and disposal of the shopping cart and the
assessment of impound, storage, and disposal fees; or
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(2)
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In the case of an
impoundment that has already occurred under subsection (a)(2):
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(A)
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The amount of the
impound fee to be assessed on the owner for each shopping cart;
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(B)
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That the owner has
three business days from the date of receipt of the notice to retrieve the
shopping cart from the impound facility; and
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(C)
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That the owner's
failure to timely retrieve the shopping cart from the impound facility may
result in disposal of the cart and the assessment of storage and disposal fees.
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(d)
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A
county that has impounded a shopping cart pursuant to this section shall assess
the owner a fee for each impounded
shopping cart unless the fee is
eligible for deferral under subsection (e) and may assess reasonable storage
fees
.
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If the business owner does not retrieve the shopping cart within three
business days of receipt of the notice under subsection (b), the county shall
dispose of the shopping cart and assess the owner a disposal fee.
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The county clerk shall establish the amount
of each type of fee assessed under this section and shall post the fee schedule
on the county's website.
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(e)
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A county that has impounded a shopping cart pursuant to this section
shall defer impound fees for the initial three shopping carts owned by the same
business establishment that were impounded within any calendar month if, before
the impoundment, the owner implemented one or more security measures; provided
that the county may charge the owner reasonable storage fees.
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No county shall defer impound fees for a
business establishment in a calendar month if four or more shopping carts owned
by the business establishment were impounded within that calendar month.
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46-D
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Retrieval and return; fine.
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In lieu of impoundment under section 46-C, a
county may return a shopping cart to the business establishment and charge the owner:
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(1)
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The costs of retrieval and delivery of the
shopping cart; and
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(2)
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A fine of $500 per shopping cart."
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SECTION 3.
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In codifying the new sections added by
section 2 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate
section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this
Act.
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SECTION 4.
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This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
INTRODUCED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title:
Counties;
Shopping Carts; Labeling; Impoundment; Disposal
Description:
Requires
every business establishment that provides a shopping cart to mark each cart
with identifying information.
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Authorizes
a county to impound and dispose of a shopping cart and assess impound fees,
storage fees, and disposal fees under certain circumstances.
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Authorizes the counties to return a shopping
cart, in lieu of impoundment, to the business establishment, subject to certain
fines.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.