STAND. COM. REP. NO. 770

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2025

RE: H.B. No. 1296

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Public Safety, to which was referred H.B. No. 1296 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE MAJOR DISASTER FUND,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish timely notice and reporting requirements to the Legislature by the Governor regarding the transfer of appropriations to the Major Disaster Fund.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Office of the Governor and Department of Budget and Finance.

Your Committee finds that full transparency and accountability require a complete accounting of all appropriations transferred and deposited into the Major Disaster Fund, as well as all reimbursements of Federal Emergency Management Agency funds received by the Fund. Your Committee further finds that assessing the effects to departments of the transfers made from various appropriations is vital to ensuring that programs from which funding was transferred remain effective.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Decreasing to 21 days the time by which the Administrator of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency must report to the Legislature after any allotment or transfer by the Governor or the expenditure of any Major Disaster Fund monies;

(2) Requiring the reporting of transfers of monies to or from the Major Disaster Fund;

(3) Further clarifying the types of information to be included in the report to the Legislature regarding the Major Disaster Fund;

(4) Requiring the Department of Budget and Finance to report to the Legislature concerning interest earned on federal reimbursement monies;

(5) Changing its effective date to June 30, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1296, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1296, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety,

____________________________

DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair