RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Section 132-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, establishes the State Fire Council, which consists of the fire chiefs of the counties; and

WHEREAS, the functions of the State Fire Council are to adopt the state fire code, to coordinate applications to the federal government for federal grant assistance for fire-related projects, and to administer those grants; and

WHEREAS, the state fire council also undertakes myriad other fire-prevention duties, including fire inspection and prevention; and

WHEREAS, the State Fire Council is administratively attached to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; and

WHEREAS, current law does not provide for an administrator for the State Fire Council; and

WHEREAS, the State Fire Council has difficulty in performing its functions which have been assumed by county fire departments instead, but this has caused county fire departments to lose the use of personnel who perform the duties of the Council; and

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to conduct a study of the State Fire Council; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to examine the duties, workload, and resources of the Council to ascertain the extent to which additional positions or assistance are necessary; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations is requested to submit a report on its findings, including a proposal for a budget request, as appropriate, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2007; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations, the State Fire Council, and the Fire Chief of each county.

Report Title:

State Fire Council; DLIR Study