STAND. COM. REP. NO. 35

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1111

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 1111 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Establish the Hawaii State Fusion Center as a program under the Office of Homeland Security; and

(2) Establish the position of Hawaii State Fusion Center Director who shall be state-funded, permanently exempt from chapter 76, Hawaii Revised Statutes, responsible to the Director of Homeland Security, and accountable to manage the operations of the Hawaii State Fusion Center.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Human Services, Department of Transportation, Office of Enterprise Technology Services, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, Hawaii State Energy Office, Board of Water Supply of the City and County of Honolulu, National Insurance Crime Bureau, Retail Merchants of Hawaii, and two individuals.

Your Committee finds 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. This measure officially establishes the Hawaii Fusion Center and the position of the Hawaii State Fusion Center Director.

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. 1111 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means.

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