Steven Tyler probably isn't going to get that Hawaiian Privacy Law he wanted after all
Steven Tyler’s quest for Hawaiian privacy has hit a big, Hawaiian roadblock. HSB465—also known as the Steven Tyler Act—would allow celebrities to sue people who took photos of videos of their private moments in the island state. But it doesn’t have the support it needs in the state House Of Representatives, and it probably won’t even be brought to a vote, no matter how many times Tyler comically bursts through the statehouse wall.
Maui Representative Angus McKelvey told the Associated Press that, “to say there is absolutely zero support” in the House “would be an understatement.” And while House Chief Clerk Brian Takeshita says it’s, in theory, possible for the bill to pass the three committees it needs to by the end of the day, or for the committees to put in a joint request to House Speaker Joseph Souki Thursday, McKelvey says, “There is a better chance of people flapping their arms and flying from Lanai to Maui.”
All the opposition to the bill comes from lawmakers who believe their state already allows ample opportunities for celebrities to sue photographers, even without the bill. As McKelvey notes, personal privacy is protected by the state’s constitution.
If the bill dies in committee this year, it can still be brought back next year. Then it would skip straight past the Senate, where it already passed after a stirring, somewhat cogent speech in session from Tyler, and go right back to the House committees, who may or may not suddenly give a damn.