STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1796

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1037

H.D. 2

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 1037, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO STATEWIDE INTEROPERABLE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to update the Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) regarding the Statewide Interoperable Communications Executive Committee to reflect the migration of the Office of Homeland Security from the Department of Defense to the Department of Law Enforcement.

More specifically, the measure replaces references to the Department of Defense and its Adjutant General with the Department of Law Enforcement and its Director in sections 76-16 and 128A-12, HRS, which relate to civil service exempt positions and membership on the Statewide Interoperable Communications Executive Committee, respectively.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Law Enforcement, Office of Homeland Security, and Department of Defense.

Your Committee finds that the amendments made by this measure are in the nature of housekeeping and are needed to align the statutory sections identified above with amendments made by section 24 of Act 278, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022, which among other things, established the Department of Law Enforcement and transferred certain functions of other state agencies to the Department.

Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1037, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1037, H.D. 2, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair