STAND. COM. REP. NO. 85

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1381

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 1381 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAII NATIONAL GUARD,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Allow the Commander of the Hawaii Air National Guard to hold the rank authorized by the Department of the Air Force, which is currently Major General;

(2) Provide the Adjutant General with the flexibility to assign either the Chief of Staff or the Assistant Adjutant General to lead the Hawaii Air National Guard; and

(3) Authorize the pay and allowances for the Chief of Staff of the Hawaii Air National Guard to be determined according to the pay tables of the Regular Air Force of the United States.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Defense and Hawaii Air National Guard.

Your Committee finds that most states only authorize a Brigadier General to serve as the highest rank in the Hawaii Air National Guard. However, the Department of the Air Force authorized the State to have a Major General for the air component, due to the size and complexity of the Hawaii Air National Guard. Under the current law, the Assistant Adjutant General is the head of the air division and as such is the only one who can sign orders related to that designation. Due to this limitation, the Major General authorization was assigned to the Chief of Staff position. Most Hawaii Air National Guard instructions refer to the Assistant Adjutant General as the leader of the Hawaii Air National Guard. However, due to the Assistant Adjutant General rank ceiling of Brigadier General in the state of Hawaii, the Chief of Staff leads the Hawaii Air National Guard as a Major General.

Your Committee finds that this incongruency leads to confusion in the chain of command and could lead to missteps in administrative and operational taskings. This measure will streamline the chain of command and provide the Adjutant General the flexibility of appointing either the Chief of Staff or the Assistant Adjutant General to head the Hawaii Air National Guard.

Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1381, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1381, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs,

________________________________

BRANDON J.C. ELEFANTE, Chair