§710-1014.5 Misuse of 911 emergency telephone service. (1) A person commits the offense of misuse of 911 emergency telephone service if the person accesses the telephone number 911 and:
(a) Knowingly causes a false alarm; or
(b) Makes a false complaint or a report of false information in reckless disregard of the risk that a public safety agency will respond by dispatching emergency services.
(2) Misuse of 911 emergency telephone service is a misdemeanor.
(3) For purposes of this section, "public safety agency" means any federal, state, or county police, fire, emergency medical service, or emergency management agency. [L 2005, c 17, §1; am L 2014, c 111, §22]
COMMENTARY ON §710-1014.5
Act 17, Session Laws 2005, established as a misdemeanor offense, the misuse of 911 emergency telephone service, when an individual accesses 911 and knowingly causes a false alarm or recklessly makes a false complaint or report. The legislature found that the Act would prevent public safety agencies from wasting their time on false alarms and ensure that legitimate emergency requests were not hampered by the abuse of the emergency system. Senate Standing Committee Report No. 1297, House Standing Committee Report No. 129.
Act 111, Session Laws 2014, which amended subsection (3), updated and recodified Hawaii's emergency management laws to conform with nationwide emergency management practices by, among other things, establishing a Hawaii emergency management agency in the state department of defense with the functions and authority currently held by the state civil defense agency; establishing the power and authority of the director of Hawaii emergency management, who will be the adjutant general, and providing the director with the functions and authority currently held by the director of civil defense; establishing county emergency management agencies, each to be under the respective county mayor's direction, with the functions and authority currently held by the local organizations for civil defense; and repealing the chapters on disaster relief [chapter 127] and the civil defense [and] emergency act [chapter 128], which were determined to be obsolete with the creation of the Hawaii emergency management agency. Conference Committee Report No. 129-14.
Structure Hawaii Revised Statutes
710. Offenses Against Public Administration
710-1000 Definitions of terms in this chapter.
710-1010 Obstructing government operations. §710-1010 Commentary:
710-1010.5 Interference with reporting an emergency or crime.
710-1011 Refusing to aid a law enforcement officer. §710-1011 Commentary:
710-1012 Refusing to assist in fire control. §710-1012 Commentary:
710-1013 Compounding. §710-1013 Commentary:
710-1014 Rendering a false alarm. §710-1014 Commentary:
710-1014.5 Misuse of 911 emergency telephone service.
710-1015 False reporting to law-enforcement authorities. §710-1015 Commentary:
710-1016 Impersonating a public servant. §710-1016 Commentary:
710-1016.5 REPEALED. L 1987, c 130, §2.
710-1016.6 Impersonating a law enforcement officer in the first degree.
710-1016.7 Impersonating a law enforcement officer in the second degree.
710-1017 Tampering with a government record. §710-1017 Commentary:
710-1017.5 Sale or manufacture of deceptive identification document; penalties.
710-1018 Securing the proceeds of an offense. §710-1018 Commentary:
710-1019 Destroying or defacing official notices; penalty.
710-1020 Escape in the first degree.
710-1021 Escape in the second degree. § §710-1020 And 710-1021 Commentary:
710-1022 Promoting prison contraband in the first degree.
710-1023 Promoting prison contraband in the second degree. § §710-1022 And 710-1023 Commentary:
710-1024 Bail jumping in the first degree.
710-1025 Bail jumping in the second degree.
710-1026 Resisting arrest. §710-1026 Commentary:
710-1026.9 Resisting an order to stop a motor vehicle in the first degree.
710-1027 Resisting an order to stop a motor vehicle in the second degree.
710-1028 Hindering prosecution; definition of rendering assistance.
710-1029 Hindering prosecution in the first degree.
710-1030 Hindering prosecution in the second degree. § §710-1028 To 710-1030 Commentary:
710-1031 Intimidating a correctional worker.
710-1040 Bribery. §710-1040 Commentary:
710-1061 False swearing in official matters.
710-1063 Unsworn falsification to authorities. § §710-1060 To 710-1063 Commentary:
710-1064 Retraction. §710-1064 Commentary:
710-1065 Inconsistent statements. §710-1065 Commentary:
710-1066 No prosecution based on previous denial of guilt. §710-1066 Commentary:
710-1067 Corroboration. §710-1067 Commentary:
710-1068 Irregularities no defense. §710-1068 Commentary:
710-1069 Misrepresenting a notarized document in the first degree.
710-1069.5 Misrepresenting a notarized document in the second degree.
710-1070 Bribery of or by a witness. §710-1070 Commentary:
710-1071 Intimidating a witness.
710-1072 Tampering with a witness. §710-1072 Commentary:
710-1072.2 Retaliating against a witness.
710-1072.5 Obstruction of justice.
710-1073 Bribery of or by a juror.
710-1074 Intimidating a juror.
710-1075 Jury tampering. § §710-1073 To 710-1075 Commentary:
710-1075.5 Retaliating against a juror.
710-1076 Tampering with physical evidence. §710-1076 Commentary: