HB1616 HD1

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1616
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO FIRE ALARMS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that properly functioning fire alarm systems are essential for public school safety. The impact of fires is especially severe for aging facilities. According to the department of education, as of 2022 the average age of public school buildings in Hawaii was seventy‑two years. Approximately twenty per cent of Hawaii's two hundred fifty‑seven public schools are more than one hundred years old.

The legislature further finds that the National Fire Protection Association Life Safety Code, commonly known as NFPA 101, requires schools to have functioning fire alarm systems. In 2017, however, the department of education acknowledged that King intermediate school in Kaneohe had not had a working fire alarm system for seven years. In 2022, teachers at Konawaena elementary school on Hawaii island also reported that the school's fire alarm system had been out of service for two years, even after a fire broke out on campus in 2020.

The legislature additionally finds that on August 8, 2023, wildfires swept across Maui and killed at least ninety-eight people, making it one of the nation's deadliest natural disasters. The wildfires destroyed over two thousand two hundred structures, including King Kamehameha III elementary school. While the fires did not occur while students were on campus, the physical devastation and loss of life resulting from the wildfires reveals the urgency of ensuring that all of the State's public schools have properly functioning fire alarm systems in case of emergencies.

The legislature notes that in 2023, legislators adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 34 and House Resolution No. 55, which urged the department of education to establish a priority list for repairing public school fire alarm systems. In its testimony on the measures, department of education officials expressed that the department maintains a prioritized list of repairs for fire alarm systems that is divided into three categories that are based on the condition of the fire alarms: critical, poor, and fair. According to the department of education, the cost of repairs to fire alarm systems that are in critical condition totals $51,489,537; the cost of repairs to fire alarm systems that are in poor condition totals $9,085,000; and the cost of repairs to fire alarm systems that are in fair condition totals $8,001,944.

The purpose of this Act is to protect Hawaii's children from fire-related emergencies by:

(1) Requiring the department of education to report to the legislature annually on the installation, repair, and maintenance of fire alarms in Hawaii's public schools; and

(2) Appropriating funds for fire alarm repair and maintenance in public schools.

SECTION 2. The department of education shall submit a report to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session on the installation, repair, and maintenance of fire alarms in Hawaii's public schools. The report shall include:

(1) The number, location, cost, and project completion date of fire alarm systems installed and repaired at public schools in the preceding fiscal year;

(2) A priority list of fire alarm system installations and repairs for public schools and the estimated cost of such projects; and

(3) Recommendations and proposed legislation for strengthening fire alarm maintenance and fire prevention throughout Hawaii's public school system.

SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2024-2025 for the installation, repair, and maintenance of fire alarms in Hawaii public schools.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. In accordance with section 9 of article VII of the Hawaii State Constitution and sections 37‑91 and 37‑93, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the legislature has determined that the appropriations contained in H.B. No. , will cause the state general fund expenditure ceiling for fiscal year 2024‑2025 to be exceeded by $ or per cent. In addition, the appropriation contained in this Act will cause the general fund expenditure ceiling for fiscal year 2024‑2025 to be further exceeded by $ or per cent. The combined total amount of general fund appropriations contained in only these two Acts will cause the state general fund expenditure ceiling for fiscal year 2024‑2025 to be exceeded by $ or per cent. The reasons for exceeding the general fund expenditure ceiling are that:

(1) The appropriation made in this Act is necessary to serve the public interest; and

(2) The appropriation made in this Act meets the needs addressed by this Act.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000; provided that section 3 shall take effect on July 1, 2024.