By HNN Staff
Published: Nov. 5, 2026 at 5:18 PM HST
Read Full Article: here
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A bill before the Honolulu City Council that would essentially ban shopping carts outside of the store properties they belong to advanced Thursday.
Bill 53 prohibits possession and use of shopping carts on Oahu unless the shopping cart is identified by the legal owner and used on premises under the legal control of the owner.
Some supporters included the Honolulu Police Department and the Retail Merchants of Hawaii, but most of the testimony was in opposition.
Some argue it criminalizes homelessness and is too vaguely written, opening up problems when it comes to ownership of the cart and enforcement.
—This measure is cruel; it’s unnecessary,
said Mandy Fernandes with the ACLU Hawaiʻi.
It’s ineffective it’s expensive it criminalizes harmless conduct it waste taxpayer dollars and doing so and it raises serious constitutional concerns.
The bill, as written, makes the offense a petty misdemeanor.
“Shopping carts again shopping carts are private property purchased by retailers for their customers. They can cost from $250-$750 and even up to $1,000, especially with shipping to Hawaii and tariffs,” said Dave Erdman, interim president of the Retail Merchants of Hawaii.
Critics of the bill say if this is about stolen property, matters should be handled under theft laws.
The bill passed its second reading and goes back to committees for further discussion.