STAND. COM. REP. NO. 506

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 564

       S.D. 2

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Transportation, International and Intergovernmental Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 564, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FIRE PROTECTION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to permit, rather than require, the county fire chief to conduct an inspection of all buildings and premises to provide fire prevention and pre-fire planning at an interval of an unspecified number of years.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the State Fire Council and the Honolulu Fire Department. Written testimony presented to the Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

     Your Committee finds that this measure would allow fire inspections to be conducted in accordance with fire and life safety risks of the building rather than on a schedule based solely on time.  Thorough and complete fire inspections reduce the risk of fire but are time-consuming because repeated follow-up inspections are required until compliance is achieved.  Fire departments can utilize their limited resources more efficiently and effectively by focusing on structures with high risk and occupancy, such as assembly buildings and high rises.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by maintaining the requirement for inspection and reducing the frequency of inspection by inserting an inspection period of at least once every five years for buildings and premises other than public schools which remain at least once each year.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation, International and Intergovernmental Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 564, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 564, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation, International and Intergovernmental Affairs,

____________________________

J. KALANI ENGLISH, Chair