HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2581
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to emergency management.

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that it is necessary to reestablish the proper constitutional framework of checks and balances and separation of powers between the legislature and the executive branch with respect to the enactment of laws to address important issues of public policy. Article III, section 1, of the Hawaii State Constitution vests the "legislative power of the State" in the legislature. Article V, section 5, of the Hawaii State Constitution gives the governor the responsibility "for the faithful execution of the laws" that are enacted.

The legislature further finds that the decision of the Hawaii Supreme Court in Nakoa III v. Governor of the State of Hawaii, 156 Hawaii 416, 575 P.3d 506 (2025), threatens to upset this vital constitutional balance. The Hawaii Supreme Court interpreted chapter 127A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to grant the governor emergency powers, including the power to suspend laws enacted by the legislature, to address "not only discrete events" that suddenly "threaten substantial harm to Hawaiʻi's people, property, or environment", but also "long-term issues", such as the nearly century-long shortage of affordable housing in Hawaii.

The legislature additionally finds that in order to preserve the separation of powers and avoid executive overreach, it must remain the exclusive province of the legislature to address longstanding public-policy challenges.

Therefore, the purpose of this Act is to clarify that the emergency powers granted by chapter 127A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to the governor and county mayors are strictly limited to situations that involve responding to the sudden occurrence of disasters or emergencies of unprecedented size and destructiveness resulting from natural or human-caused hazards.

SECTION 2. Section 127A-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By amending the definition of "disaster" to read:

""Disaster" means [any emergency,] the occurrence or imminent threat [thereof, which results or may likely result in] of widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life, property, or environment [and] resulting from any sudden natural or artificial cause, including hurricanes, windstorms, floods, extreme rain events, earthquakes, landslides, mudslides, volcanic activity, tsunamis, fires, explosions, air or water contamination, blight, droughts, infestations, riots, sabotage, hostile military or paramilitary action, hazardous material accidents, disease or contagion outbreaks, bioterrorism, terrorism, or incidents involving weapons of mass destruction, that requires, or may require, assistance from other counties, states, the federal government, or from private agencies."

2. By amending the definition of ""emergency" to read:

""Emergency" means [any] the occurrence[,] or imminent threat [thereof, which results or may likely result in substantial injury or] of a disaster that causes or may be likely to cause catastrophic harm and immediate danger to the population [or], substantial damage to or loss of property, or substantial damage to or loss of the environment[.] and that timely action can avert or minimize."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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Report Title:

Emergency Management; Emergency Powers; Disasters; Emergencies

Description:

Clarifies the types of events that constitute disasters and emergencies for the purposes of emergency management.

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