Haw. Rev. Stat. § 115-9
This is the official text of Haw. Rev. Stat. § 115-9, part of Hawaii’s Rev. Stat — part of the compiled statutory law of Hawaii, published by the state as "Rev. Stat." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Obstructing access to public property; penalty.
Official statutory text
(a) A person commits the offense of obstructing access to public property if the person, by action or by having installed a physical impediment, intentionally prevents a member of the public from traversing:
(1) A public right-of-way;
(2) A transit area;
(3) A public transit corridor; or
(4) A beach transit corridor;
and thereby obstructs access to and along the sea, the shoreline, or any inland public recreational area.
(b) Physical impediments that may prevent traversing include but are not limited to the following:
(1) Gates;
(2) Fences;
(3) Walls;
(4) Constructed barriers;
(5) Rubbish;
(6) Security guards;
(7) Guard dogs or animals; and
(8) A landowner's human-induced, enhanced, or unmaintained vegetation that interferes or encroaches within beach transit corridors.
(c) Obstructing access to public property is a misdemeanor.
(d) Minimum fines for violation under this section shall be as follows:
(1) $1,000 for a second conviction; and
(2) $2,000 for any conviction after a second conviction.
(e) As used in this section:
"Landowner" means the record owner of the property or the record owner's agent, including a lessee, tenant, property manager, or trustee.
"Person" means a natural person or a legal entity.
"Public recreational area" means public lands or bodies of water opened to the public for recreational use. [L 2004, c 169, §2; am L 2010, c 160, §4]
(1) A public right-of-way;
(2) A transit area;
(3) A public transit corridor; or
(4) A beach transit corridor;
and thereby obstructs access to and along the sea, the shoreline, or any inland public recreational area.
(b) Physical impediments that may prevent traversing include but are not limited to the following:
(1) Gates;
(2) Fences;
(3) Walls;
(4) Constructed barriers;
(5) Rubbish;
(6) Security guards;
(7) Guard dogs or animals; and
(8) A landowner's human-induced, enhanced, or unmaintained vegetation that interferes or encroaches within beach transit corridors.
(c) Obstructing access to public property is a misdemeanor.
(d) Minimum fines for violation under this section shall be as follows:
(1) $1,000 for a second conviction; and
(2) $2,000 for any conviction after a second conviction.
(e) As used in this section:
"Landowner" means the record owner of the property or the record owner's agent, including a lessee, tenant, property manager, or trustee.
"Person" means a natural person or a legal entity.
"Public recreational area" means public lands or bodies of water opened to the public for recreational use. [L 2004, c 169, §2; am L 2010, c 160, §4]
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Hawaii?
Find a Hawaii lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.