STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2285

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 3335

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 3335 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE CIVIL AIR PATROL,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds for operational expense of the Hawaii Wing of the Civil Air Patrol.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency; Maui County Composite Squadron, Civil Air Patrol; Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, Department of Hawaii; and ten individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance.

Your Committee finds that the Civil Air Patrol is a non-profit organization and an auxiliary of the United States Air Force and its missions include emergency services, aerospace education, and cadet programs. Civil Air Patrol members are volunteers who serve as pilots, scanners, and ground crew in fulfilling its mission. Additionally, Civil Air Patrol personnel regularly serve in the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency Emergency Operations Center during emergency and disaster incident responses, and they assist in the field by spreading warnings in remote areas before an incident, providing pre-assessment aerial reconnaissance, and assessing the damages and impacts afterward. Most recently, the Civil Air Patrol was employed on Maui following the December 2021 severe storms and provided valuable aerial photography that assisted the State in its application for a federal disaster declaration. Although the Hawaii Wing of the Civil Air Patrol has conducted its activities through funding of operational expenses from the State for years, that funding ceased in 2019. Your Committee believes that the Civil Air Patrol is a key asset in state emergency management. This measure will allow the State to protect lives and property in Hawaii by appropriating funds for operational expenses of the Hawaii Wing of the Civil Air Patrol.

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. 3335 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on 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