STAND. COM. REP. NO. 187-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2320

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 Labor, to which was referred H.B. No. 2320 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE STATE FIRE COUNCIL,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to replace the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations with the Department of Law Enforcement as the department responsible for budgeting administrative staffing for the State Fire Council.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and Office of the State Fire Marshal.

Your Committee finds that Act 302, Session Laws of Hawaii 2025, transferred the State Fire Council's administrative budget to the Department of Law Enforcement, but related statutory language was not updated to reflect this change. The resulting inconsistency has created ambiguity regarding which department is responsible for budgeting administrative staffing for the Council. This measure resolves the inconsistency to clearly assign this responsibility to the Department of Law Enforcement.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the 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 Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2320, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2320, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor,

____________________________

JACKSON D. SAYAMA, Chair