STAND. COM. REP. NO. 184________

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: H.B. No. 790
                                     




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Education, to which was referred H.B. No.
790 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DISASTER RELIEF,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to require all new school
buildings planned, designed, constructed, and equipped after
June 30, 2000, to be built in accordance with hurricane resistant
shelter criteria adopted by the Adjutant General.

     In addition, this bill:

     (1)  Requires, to the maximum extent feasible, all new
          school buildings planned, designed, constructed, and
          equipped before July 1, 2000, to be built in accordance
          with hurricane resistant shelter criteria established
          by the Adjutant General on July 29, 1997; and

     (2)  Requires the Adjutant General to adopt hurricane
          resistant shelter criteria to regulate the planning,
          design, construction, and equipping of all new public
          school buildings built after June 30, 2000.

     Your Committee received comments on this bill from the
Department of Accounting and General Services suggesting that the

 
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scope of the bill be limited to only those buildings that serve
as shelters, for example, cafeterias, gymnasiums, and
auditoriums.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to
this bill from the Department of Education.

     While modern weather satellites can provide the Hawaiian
Islands with advanced warning of impending hurricanes, tropical
storms, and gales, your Committee finds that people must still
find safe places to shelter themselves during severe weather
events.  School buildings are the most convenient shelters
because they are often within walking distance of people's homes
and can be accessed by large numbers of people without adding to
the traffic congestion on Hawaii's already crowded highways.

     In order to expedite the passage of this bill, which must be
referred to your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce
and then to your Committee on Finance, this Committee purposely
has not incorporated the amendments suggested by the Department
of Accounting and General Services to limit the scope of this
bill to only those buildings that serve as shelters.  Your
Committee believes that these amendments, if deemed necessary,
can be made by your Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce
or your Committee on Finance when time permits.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No.
790 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to
the Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Education,



                                   ______________________________
                                   KEN ITO, Chair

 
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