THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	205
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MANOA TO provide a written status report or brief THE LEGISLATURE ON THE PROPOSED NATIONAL DISASTER PREPAREDNESS TRAINING CENTER.

     WHEREAS, on August 3, 2007, President Bush signed H.R. 1 "Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007," which authorized the establishment of the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center at the University of Hawai‘i; and

     WHEREAS, the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center is a member of the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium, which is under the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and

     WHEREAS, the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center will conduct research and develop specific models and tools for monitoring natural hazards and evaluating risks to urban areas, while planning for the response, recovery, and reconstruction of the community in the aftermath of natural disasters; and

     WHEREAS, the focus of the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center is on building community resilience to all hazards by developing and training urban first responders, decision makers, policy analysts, and urban planners; and

     WHEREAS, the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center will provide training consisting of formal degrees and certificate programs, as well as specialized courses, workshops, and conferences; coordinate the sharing of data and information related to disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery; and serve as an incubator for new ideas, technologies, businesses, and partnerships between academia, business, and government; and

     WHEREAS, the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center's mission will be to develop and deliver disaster preparedness training to governmental, private, and non-profit entities, incorporating urban planning with an emphasis on community preparedness and at risk populations; and

     WHEREAS, the Department of Urban and Regional Planning of the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa will house and manage the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center; and

     WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii's unique geographic characteristics and vulnerability to natural hazards such as hurricanes, tsunamis, flooding, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes make it particularly important to develop and provide such training; and

     WHEREAS, as a land, sea, and space grant institution and with national and international recognition for its academic and research excellence in the fields of urban planning and earth sciences, the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa has the expertise, as well as the research and training programs, in the field of disaster management; and

     WHEREAS, the benefits to the people of the State of Hawaii, economic and otherwise, accruing from the establishment of a large federally-funded center will be significant; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Urban and Regional Planning of the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa is requested to provide a written status report or provide a briefing to the Legislature on the proposed National Disaster Preparedness Training Center; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the report or briefing include, but not be limited to, proposed legislation to facilitate natural disaster preparedness in the State; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center conduct ongoing consultation with the State Department of Defense to prepare proposed legislation; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the University of Hawai‘i, State Adjutant General, Department of Urban and Regional Planning of the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa; the Governor, and each member of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

National Disaster Preparedness Training Center; Briefing