STAND. COM. REP. NO. 475

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2021

RE: H.B. No. 957

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Pandemic & Disaster Preparedness and Higher Education & Technology, to which was referred H.B. No. 957 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOMELAND SECURITY,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish the Hawaii State Fusion Center and the Director for the Hawaii State Fusion Center.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Defense, Department of Human Services, Department of Transportation, Hawaii State Energy Office, Hawai‘i Gas, Retail Merchants of Hawaii, and one individual.

Your Committees find that on December 20, 2010, the State was designated as the seventy-seventh fusion center by the United States Department of Homeland Security. The Hawaii Fusion Center has been a vital resource for the State, serving as a center for federal, state, and county agencies to coordinate their efforts in receiving and sharing important security information. As security threats increase, it is essential that the State maintains the ability to coordinate the efficient and effective sharing of security information across all levels of government.

Your Committees note that funding for the Director of the Fusion Center ended on December 31, 2020, and under the current economic constraints as a result of COVID-19, the Office of Homeland Security has been funding the position. The Office of Homeland Security is expected to fund the position using federal funds next year; however, funding the Fusion Center exclusively with federal funds is not an advisable business practice. As such, re-establishing state funding for the Director of the Fusion Center is imperative to the functioning of the Fusion Center in future years.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Changing its effective date to July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Pandemic & Disaster Preparedness and Higher Education & Technology that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 957, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 957, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Pandemic & Disaster Preparedness and Higher Education & Technology,

____________________________ GREGG TAKAYAMA, Chair

____________________________ LINDA ICHIYAMA, Chair