On Friday, the Maui County Council is expected to consider turning up the fines on drivers who won’t turn down their loud after-market stereos.

Saying motorists who drive down the street blaring music at high decibels are showing “zero aloha,” Maui County Council Chair Alice Lee announced Monday that legislation addressing the fines for vehicles caught blasting their stereos is on the agenda for Friday.

According to Lee, Bill 119 would amend the Maui County Code on noise control by increasing fines for the first time in more than 35 years.

As proposed, the fine would go from $25-$100 for a first offense up to $500. The fine for a second offense, currently $100-$250, would increase to $750, and the third and subsequent offenses would bring $1,000 fines, up from the current $250-$500 range.

When Lee introduced the legislation, she originally suggested offenders should have to forfeit their sound systems. However, Bill 119 was amended to jettison that idea after representatives of the Maui Police Department and prosecutor’s office expressed concerns about how car stereos would be removed from vehicles during discussions on Bill 119 at the Water Authority, Social Services and Parks Committee meeting May 21.

The WASSP committee was operating with five members present, the lowest number for a quorum, and voted unanimously in favor of discharging Bill 119, allowing it to go before the full County Council.

That wasn’t a recommendation for passage, though, and based on the County Council members’ remarks on May 21, there appears to be some opposition to the bill. The Water Authority, Social Services and Parks Committee’s full report on Bill 119 is available at tinyurl.com/NoiseBill.

Friday’s meeting is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and will be livestreamed on Akakū Channel 53, at MauiCounty.us and on the council’s Facebook and YouTube pages.

‘Zero aloha’

According to Lee, Bill 119 arose after a Wailuku resident described the noise problem as an “escalating issue” in a letter. The letter also included a petition signed by Central Maui business owners concerned about a “systemic disregard” for the law.

Lee added that another resident reached out to her saying cars that pass by the resident’s East Waiko Road home are blasting loud music at all times of the day and night.

“I understand where Chair Lee is coming from with this one,” Council member Nohelani U’u-Hodgins said. “Sometimes the music is so loud it’s completely obnoxious. The other day I was taking my children to school, and somebody’s music was so loud it was rattling my car. I could hear it so clearly and he was so far away. I was almost impressed if I wasn’t going deaf. If you have money for sounds, you should have money to pay a ticket.”

Lee compared the loud music to fireworks and called it a “major menace to everybody’s neighborhood.”

“You have to wonder about anybody who does that,” she said. “It’s a total disregard for other people, like zero aloha, and if they can do that, you wonder if that’s their nature to do even worse things in the neighborhood. I think these people need to be taught a lesson early on before it gets more serious.”

‘Bigger fish to fry’

Council member Gabe Johnson said he doesn’t like these types of bills, which he likened to “Footloose bills,” a reference to the hit 1984 movie in which dancing is banned.

Johnson’s questions centered on what could happen if someone fails to pay the fines after being cited for a noise violation and whether that can lead to someone’s incarceration.

The prosecutor’s office acknowledged that while a noise violation isn’t a criminal offense by itself, anyone who fails to pay the fines can lose their driving privileges and driving without a license is a criminal offense that can lead to warrants being issued and jail time.

“It smacks of territorial law in a way,” Johnson said. “I think our departments have bigger fish to fry, and in my opinion, this is a guppy.”

Council member Tamara Paltin said she felt similar to Johnson and doesn’t see this as a priority.

“I can understand that it can be a nuisance, especially in neighborhoods, especially at night, but in the scheme of things, if this is your biggest complaint, I’d like to be you,” Paltin said.

Paltin also questioned how someone might contest a citation and what it would take to prove they were in violation.

MPD Sgt. Ryan Ehlers said officers enforce the code based on their observations, and the prosecutor’s office added that there is a method for people to contest citations before a judge. The prosecutor’s office said the judge would consider all the evidence before making a decision based upon “a preponderance of the evidence,” which is a lower standard of proof than “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Eyes on enforcement

Raising the cost of fines might have little effect if the number of citations remains at or near zero.

Based on correspondence with County Council Members, Maui police did not issue any citations for drivers violating the noise ordinance in 2024.

However, Ehlers told County Council members the Department of Land and Natural Resources can also issue those citations, and he didn’t know if the state had written any tickets during that time.

Maui County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Ryan Anderson-Teshima said the county’s prosecutors don’t handle citations unless someone contests the ticket, and it’s extremely rare in the case of noise violations, possibly because it’s easier to pay the fine or because few tickets are issued.

“I wouldn’t be able to answer how many citations have been issued or how many fines have been collected; I can only say that I haven’t seen anybody come into court to challenge it,” said Anderson-Teshima.

During discussions, Lee also said she would support local law enforcement increasing enforcement and promoting community engagement and education surrounding noise ordinances.

She added that she would like MPD to consider installing cameras with microphones at intersections “so that people will think twice about trying to continue to break this law.”