STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3214

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.C.R. No. 40

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 40 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE STATE OF HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE TO CONVENE AN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY REVIEW TASK FORCE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the state Department of Defense to convene an emergency management agency review task force to:

(1) Review the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency's operations with respect to notifying the public of imminent ballistic missile attacks;

(2) Consider whether the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency should be the entity that notifies the public of imminent ballistic missile attacks; and

(3) Evaluate whether the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency is capable of notifying the public of imminent ballistic missile attacks.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, Disability and Communication Access Board, O‘ahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, and one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the State Emergency Communications Committee and Hawaii Association of Broadcasters, Inc.

Your Committee finds that on January 13, 2018, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency issued a ballistic missile alert that incorrectly informed mobile phone users across the State that Hawaii was under a missile attack. Although officials in the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and other governmental agencies almost immediately knew that the alert was false, mobile users were not informed the alert was false until approximately forty minutes after the ballistic missile alert was broadcasted.

Your Committee further finds that on January 30, 2018, the Governor and Adjutant General released the results of an internal investigative memorandum regarding the false ballistic missile alert. The memorandum stated that various factors, such as insufficient management controls and poor computer software design, contributed to the dissemination of the false ballistic missile alert and delay in the dissemination of the correction message. Your Committee finds that the false alert provides an opportunity to evaluate existing procedures and protocols and identify solutions.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Adding the Executive Director of the Disability and Communication Access Board, or the Executive Director's designee, as a member of the emergency management agency review task force;

(2) Adding the Chair of the State Emergency Communications Committee, or the Chair's designee, as a member of the emergency management agency review task force;

(3) Adding the President of The Hawaii Association of Broadcasters, Inc., or the President's designee, as a member of the emergency management agency review task force; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 40, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 40, S.D. 1.

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

________________________________

CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair