STAND. COM. REP. NO. 194-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2290

H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Public Safety, to which was referred H.B. No. 2290 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAII EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish the Administrator of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency as the Deputy Director of Emergency Management, serving under the Adjutant General within the Department of Defense, and to vest this position with operational authority over the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Defense and Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency.

Your Committee finds that the increasing frequency and complexity of natural and human-caused disasters in Hawaii require a leadership structure with clearer operational authority and a more defined chain of command within the Department of Defense. Your Committee further finds that the Department of Transportation provides a useful organizational model, with a Director supported by Deputy Directors who each have defined operational authority over a specific area. Similarly, converting the Administrator position of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency into a Deputy Director position within the Department of Defense, under the direction of the Adjutant General, who serves as the Director of Hawaii Emergency Management, would strengthen coordination, clarify authority, and enhance the State's ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing its effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2290, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2290, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Labor.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety,

____________________________

DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair