STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2327

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2130

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2020

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 2130 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE STATE FIRE CODE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to repeal the requirement that the state fire code be adopted after public hearings and instead require that the fire code be adopted after meetings with pertinent stakeholders.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii State Fire Council and Honolulu Fire Department. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Building Industry Association.

Your Committee finds that under existing law, the state fire code is required to hold public hearings, involving costs of approximately $2,000 to post public notices in the five different news publications in the State, in addition to various steps in the administrative rule process. Your Committee further finds that the state fire code is among the codes and standards that compose the state building code. However, the fire code is the only building code that is required to hold public hearings, while other codes such as residential, plumbing, energy, and electrical codes are adopted by the State Building Code Council after a meeting with pertinent stakeholders. This measure will align the adoption of the state fire code with the requirements and procedures established for the adoption of all other building codes.

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 is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2130 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

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

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CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair