STAND. COM. REP. NO. 201

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1101

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 1101 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Establish the Safe Home Program to provide matching and nonmatching grants for installation of wind resistive devices to single-family, owner-occupied, residential property owners upon certain circumstances; and

(2) Create one temporary position within the Insurance Division of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to implement and administer the Safe Home Program.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs; Office of the Director of Emergency Management; Hawaii State Energy Office; City and County of Honolulu Office of Climate Change, Sustainability, and Resiliency; Hawaii Insurers Council; and two individuals. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the State Procurement office and Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority.

Your Committees find that Hawaii residents are highly susceptible to property loss due to hurricanes, tropical storms, and strong winds. With climate change affecting average temperatures, the likelihood of weather-related natural disasters will only continue to increase. Your Committees note the testimony of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs that, even if there are no funds immediately available to fund this program, this measure is still important to help establish and set the regulatory framework of the Safe Home Program so that, when funding or grant money does becomes available, the program will already be in place to more quickly facilitate the grants contemplated by this measure.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying the matching and nonmatching grants awarded to applicants under this measure from the Safe Home Program Trust Fund shall not be subject to chapter 42F, 91, 103D, or 103F, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1101, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1101, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs,

________________________________ CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair

________________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair