Conforms Hawaii's civil defense laws to current federal laws, organizational structure, and practices; provides immunity from liability to healthcare facilities that provide shelter during disasters and emergencies. (SD1)

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. It is the policy of this State that civil defense functions of the State should be coordinated to the maximum extent with private agencies, federal and county governments, and nonprofit organizations to address natural and man-made disasters or related emergencies. The legislature recognizes that the laws, agencies, and practices at the federal level have evolved and changed. The Civil Defense Act of 1950 was repealed and subsequently replaced with the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. Federal agencies have been realigned with a corresponding change in responsibilities and practices. The legislature finds that there is a need to bring Hawaii's civil defense laws into conformity with current federal laws, as well as implement best practices to ensure our state is fully prepared.

SECTION 2. Section 128-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§128-1 Policy and purposes. (a) Because of the importance of the State as a strategic defense area, the dependence of the State upon seaborne commerce for food supplies and other commodities essential to the public health, safety, and welfare and to the economic life of its people, the danger of shortages of such supplies and commodities, and other emergency conditions affecting the readiness of this community [to do its part in the existing national emergency which was declared by the President on December 16, 1950,] to respond to any attack, disaster, or emergency, and the possibility of disasters or emergencies of great destructiveness resulting from fire, flood, tidal wave tsunami, volcanic eruption, earthquake, hurricane, or other natural causes and disasters or emergencies caused by acts of man, including but not limited to, massive oil spills, nuclear accidents, airplane crashes, civil disturbances, terrorism, enemy attack, sabotage, or other hostile action, therefore in order to [insure] ensure that preparations of this State [and the government provided for this State] will be adequate to deal with disasters or emergencies, to make adequate provision against such shortages, to maintain the strength, resources, and economic life of the community and provide for prompt and effective action, as the circumstances develop and in cooperation with the federal government, to further and promote the national defense and civil defense and to protect the public health, safety, and welfare, the provisions of this chapter are hereby found and declared to be necessary.

(b) It is [further declared to be] a purpose of this chapter and a policy of the State that all civil defense functions of this State be coordinated to the maximum extent with the comparable functions of the federal government including its various departments and agencies, with those of other states and localities, and with those of private agencies of every type, to the end that the most effective preparation and use may be made of all personnel, resources, and facilities for dealing with any disaster or emergency that may occur. It [further] is the intent of the legislature that all other emergency functions be coordinated to the maximum extent with the comparable functions of the federal government, its departments and agencies.

(c) It is [declared to be] the further intent of the legislature to provide for and confer comprehensive powers [for the purposes stated.] as provided herein. This chapter shall be liberally construed to effectuate its purposes[,]; provided that this chapter shall not be construed as conferring any power or permitting any action which is inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States, but, in so construing this chapter, due consideration shall be given to the circumstances as they exist from time to time. [This chapter shall not be deemed to have been amended by an act hereafter enacted at the same or any other session of the legislature, unless this chapter is amended by express reference hereto.]"

SECTION 3. Section 128-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§128-2 Definitions. When used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

""Attack" means any attack or series of attacks by an enemy of the United States or any domestic or international terrorist or terrorist group or entity causing, or which may cause, damage or injury to civilian property or persons in the United States in any manner by the use of bombs, shellfire, or atomic, radiological, chemical, bacteriological, or biological means or other weapons or processes; sabotage; and any form of hostile action[;]. "Attack" includes "disaster" and "emergency."

"Blackout" includes, but is not limited to, the effective screening or extinguishing of lights and lighting devices and appliances[;].

"Civil defense" means the preparation for and the carrying out of all functions, other than functions for which military forces are primarily responsible, to prevent, minimize, and repair injury and damage resulting, or which would result, from disasters caused by an attack[.], emergency, or disaster. The disasters include without limitation those that result from or arise out of action in resisting or combating an attack or apparent attack. Civil defense functions include all those provided for by this chapter which are for the purposes stated in this paragraph and, without limitation, fire fighting services, police services, medical and health services, rescue engineering, air raid warning services, communications, radiological, chemical, and other special weapons defense, evacuation of persons from stricken or danger areas, or from security areas established by or under authority of the United States, emergency housing and other emergency welfare services, emergency transportation, protection of important installations, and other functions related to civilian protection, together with all other activities necessary or incidental to the preparation for and carrying out of the foregoing functions. "Civil defense" is deemed to encompass, but is not limited to, all those activities and measures which, by the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950, are defined to be within the term "civil defense", and any activity within the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as amended, insofar as the activities and measures relate to preparation for, or relate to functioning in respect of, an attack upon the State, emergency, or disaster, but for the purposes of section 128-10(1) and (3) shall not be deemed to be restricted geographically[;].

"Civil defense emergency period" means the period of existence of [a state of civil defense] an emergency or disaster lawfully proclaimed [in accordance with applicable federal the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950] by the President or the Congress, if so proclaimed on a national basis or for any geographic area that includes the State, and also means any period so proclaimed by the governor, as provided by section 128-7[;].

"Disaster" means any natural catastrophe, including any hurricane, tornado, storm, high water, gale-force winds, wind driven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, or drought, or, regardless of cause, any fire, flood, or explosion, in any part of the State, which in the determination of the governor causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant assistance under this chapter to supplement the efforts and available resources of local governments and state agencies, and disaster relief organizations in alleviating the damage, loss, hardship, or suffering caused therefrom.

"Emergency functions" means civil defense powers and functions and all other powers and functions provided for by this chapter[;].

"Facilities", except as otherwise provided in this chapter, includes buildings and other structures, shelters, land, and appurtenant materials[;].

"Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950" means Public Law 920, 81st Congress, 2d Session, chapter 1228, as the same may be amended or supplemented from time to time[;].

"Federal program" means a program of the federal government, its departments, and agencies, for emergency management, homeland security, homeland defense, rationing or conservation of materials, supplies, commodities, equipment, or facilities, for assigning priorities with respect thereto, for price control thereof, for wage controls, for the mobilization of personnel, for alien property control or control of trading with the enemy, for the welfare of veterans, for defense production, construction, or transportation, or any program or function of the department of defense [or the federal civil defense administration;], the federal department of homeland security and any of its agencies.

"Highways" have the meaning as defined by section 264-1, and further include all public rights of way, whether or not included in the definition[;].

"Laws" includes ordinances, and rules, regulations, and orders prescribed under laws or ordinances and having the force and effect of law[;].

"Local organization for civil defense" means an organization created in accordance with this chapter to perform civil defense functions in a political subdivision of the State[;].

"Materials" includes medicines, supplies, products, commodities, articles, equipment, machinery, and component parts[;].

"Mobile support unit" means an organization for civil defense created in accordance with this chapter to be dispatched to supplement local organizations for civil defense in stricken areas[;].

"Necessary" means and refers to such means, measures, or other actions or determinations as are necessary in the opinion of the governor, or the governor's authorized representative[;].

"Political subdivisions" means the counties of Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai, and the city and county of Honolulu[;].

"Protective device", without prejudice to any other meaning associated with the word, includes any article or substance used or useful in the protection of persons or property[;].

"Shelter" without prejudice to any other meaning associated with the word, includes any structure, excavation, or other shelter used or useful in the protection of persons or property; "States" includes the several states, the District of Columbia, and the possessions of the United States, and also includes, for the purposes of section 128-10(1) and (3), the State of Hawaii, and to the extent authorized by or under federal law, foreign countries and their provinces and states[;].

"Traffic control" includes plans and regulations for the control of traffic to provide for the rapid and safe movements or evacuation over highways of people, troops, or vehicles and materials for civil defense or national defense or for use in any defense industry, and for the movement and cessation of movement of pedestrians and vehicular traffic during, before and after blackouts, drills, alerts, or attacks."

SECTION 4. Section 128-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§128-7 Civil defense emergency period. (a) The term "civil defense emergency period", as defined in section 128-2, includes [a]:

(b) The governor shall be the sole judge of the existence of the danger, threat, state of affairs, or circumstances. A period of [civil defense] emergency proclaimed pursuant to [the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950] federal law shall terminate as therein provided, and a period of [civil defense] emergency proclaimed by the governor shall terminate upon proclamation by the governor."

SECTION 5. The legislature finds that there is a need to clarify the law regarding the liability of a healthcare facility operator when the operator permits the use of the facility for sheltering persons, including patients and persons in the facility's care or custody, during disasters and emergencies. The legislature recognizes that there is a shortage of shelter space in Hawaii and that the healthcare facility industry should be encouraged to assist in the sheltering of patients, residents, employees and family members, and others during disasters and emergencies. Under current law, it is unclear whether a healthcare facility operator is able to comply with the requirements of section 128-19, Hawaii Revised Statutes when providing shelter to patients or residents.

The purpose of this part is to clarify that compensation received by a healthcare facility operator for the care of patients or residents is not considered compensation for purposes of section 128-19, Hawaii Revised Statutes, if the healthcare facility is operating in accordance with applicable local, state, and federal laws, rules, and regulations, and any requirements for emergency care and disaster planning, and the operator has not abandoned its patients or residents.

SECTION 6. Section 128-19, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§128-19 Immunity from liability of private shelter. (a) Any individual, partnership, firm, society, unincorporated association, joint venture group, hui, joint stock company, corporation, trustee, personal representative, trust estate, decedent's estate, trust, or other legal entity, together with its successors in interest, whether doing business for itself or in a fiduciary capacity, owning or controlling real property, who voluntarily and without compensation grants a license or privilege for, or otherwise permits, the designation by the director of civil defense for the use of the whole or any part of the property for the purpose of sheltering persons during an actual, impending, mock or practice attack, or during a disaster or emergency, shall[, together with its successors in interest, if any,] not be civilly liable for negligently causing the death of or injury to any person or damage to any personal property on the property of the licensor in connection with the use of the licensed premises for the purposes designated. [For purposes of this section, the consideration paid by any guest or person for transient accommodation lodging shall not be considered compensation.]

(b) The immunity from liability under this section shall also apply to:

SECTION 7. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 8. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.