THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

219

THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

Urging the Federal Emergency Management Agency to expedite the placement of maui wildfire survivors into the federal direct lease program.

 

 

     WHEREAS, in August 2023, the Maui wildfires destroyed or damaged approximately two thousand two hundred structures, leaving thousands of residents displaced and without shelter; and

 

     WHEREAS, in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, State, and American Red Cross worked with the hotel industry to house survivors in the non-congregate shelter program; and

 

     WHEREAS, as of March 2024, hundreds of survivors and families are still without long-term housing; and

 

     WHEREAS, one option for long-term housing is the Federal Emergency Management Agency's direct lease program, wherein the agency leases existing, ready-to-occupy residential properties for use as temporary housing for families displaced by the wildfires; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to information presented at a Hawaii State Senate Ways and Means Committee briefing, there are currently one thousand three hundred units in the direct lease program that have yet to be filled; and

 

     WHEREAS, many survivors have attested that the process of obtaining housing through the direct lease program is long and difficult, particularly the credit and background check; and

 

     WHEREAS, it is a moral and financial priority for the State to move as many survivors as possible into long-term housing programs; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is urged to expedite the placement of Maui wildfire survivors into the direct lease program; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Governor, Adjutant General, Director of Human Services, Mayor of the County of Maui, Chair of the Maui County Council, Managing Director of the County of Maui, State Disaster Management Advisor, and members of the Joint Housing Task Force.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Maui Wildfires; FEMA; Direct Lease; Housing