STAND. COM. REP. NO.  401

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   H.B. No. 1345

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Public Safety & Military Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 1345 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION FOR NATURAL DISASTERS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to make emergency appropriations for emergency relief operations statewide resulting from the October 15, 2006, Kiholo Bay Earthquake disaster to:

     (1)  Fund statewide response and recovery efforts to repair damaged public structures and infrastructure;

     (2)  Cover the required 25 percent cost share for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Public Assistance Program and individual Assistance Program, as required by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster and Emergency Assistance Act, and for the Natural Resources Conservative Service Emergency Watershed Protection Program;

     (3)  Provide emergency generators to selected critical communications facilities to ensure continuity of operations;

     (4)  Hire consultants to:

          (A)  Investigate and survey alternate sources of irrigation water for the island of Hawaii; and

          (B)  Develop and coordinate plans for public and private partnerships to improve and protect sources and distribution of irrigation water on the island of Hawaii;

          and

     (5)  Provide financial assistance to critical education and health care facilities for structural and non-structural mitigation projects.

     The Department of Defense, Department of Education, and University of Hawaii System supported this bill.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1)  Broadening the purposes of the appropriations by removing language specifying only certain structures and facilities for which the funds could be used;

(2)  Changing the amounts of the appropriations to unspecified sums to encourage further discussion;

(3)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2015; and

(4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety & Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1345, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1345, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety & Military Affairs,

____________________________

CINDY EVANS, Chair