STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1048

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1379

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1379, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to increase the State's disaster readiness.

Specifically, this measure:

(1) Establishes the community readiness centers program and community readiness centers special fund, to be administered by the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency;

(2) Renames the environmental response, energy, and food security tax as the environmental response, energy, food security, and resilience tax, and directs a portion of the tax revenue into the community readiness centers special fund; and

(3) Requires a report to the Legislature.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency; Catholic Charities Hawai`i; Hawaii Council of Community Associations; Hawaii Executive Collaborative, Climate Hawai`i; and one individual.

Your Committee finds that the establishment of community readiness centers throughout the State will provide resources, services, and assistance to support residents with disaster preparedness before emergencies, and will provide critical information, supplies, and basic medical care during and after emergencies.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Amending the preamble to clarify the intent of this measure;

(2) Appropriating an unspecified amount of general funds to the Department of Defense for the acquisition of lands for community readiness centers and an emergency operations center; and

(3) Authorizing the Department of Defense to delegate to other state agencies its authority to implement the projects related to the purpose of this measure if it is advantageous to do so.

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 S.B. No. 1379, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1379, S.D. 2.

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

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair