Requires emergency responders to submit to the director of civil defense a plan to harden their respective buildings to avoid damages during natural or manmade disaster. Requires emergency responders to implement plan no later than 18 months after the effective date of this Act.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. Chapter 128, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§128- Disaster preparedness; emergency responders; facility structures. (a) All emergency responders shall develop a plan to harden their structural facilities using new technologies developed to prevent the progressive collapse of facilities during a natural or manmade disaster. Each plan shall include a timeline detailing the emergency responder's planned implementation of the prospective hardening of the facilities used by their agency. The plan shall be submitted to the director not later than six months after the effective date of this section. Implementation of the plan to harden each emergency responder's structural facilities shall begin not later than eighteen months after the effective date of this section.

(b) For the purpose of this section, emergency responders includes county police departments, fire departments, emergency services providers, and any other emergency response organization with structural facilities subject to this section."

SECTION 2. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.