Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 344 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to provide funding to increase the number of emergency public shelters available by retrofitting public buildings with the installation of hurricane protective measures.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Accounting and General Services, the Department of Education, the Department of Defense, the Oahu Civil Defense Agency, the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency, the Hawaii State Chapter of the American Red Cross, and a concerned citizen. The Hawaii Association of Realtors submitted testimony in opposition to one of the sources of funding proposed by this measure (Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund).

Your Committee finds that the Hawaiian Islands are vulnerable to natural disasters such as hurricanes or tsunamis. In the event of such a disaster, the State needs to be able to provide emergency shelter to persons forced from their homes.

Your Committee further finds that this measure could provide sufficient funding to increase the number of emergency shelter spaces in the State to 40,000, primarily by retrofitting public school facilities.

While your Committee agrees with the need to provide funding for additional public shelter spaces, your Committee was reluctant to use any portion of the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund or the general revenues of the State.

Therefore, your Committee has amended this measure to authorize the issuance of general obligation (GO) bonds to finance the project. Your Committee finds GO bonds to be an appropriate source of funds for the capital improvement projects called for by this measure.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 344, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 344, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.