STAND. COM. REP. NO. 834-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2443

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 Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 2443, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DISASTER SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Add disability- and access-and-functional-needs-related planning, preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation to the designated functions of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency; and

(2) Appropriate funds to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency for the establishment of a Disability Integration Specialist to provide programming support for disability and access-and-functional-needs community projects that promote accessibility, inclusion, and equity in disaster management.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency; Hawaiʻi Civil Rights Commission; Hawaiʻi State Council on Developmental Disabilities; Office of Wellness and Resilience; Aloha Independent Living Hawaii; Hawaii Disability Rights Center; Hawaiʻi Self-Advocacy Advisory Council; LeadingAge Pacific West; Full Life; and nine individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General.

Your Committee notes the recommendation by the Department of the Attorney General that if the civil service exemption for the Disability Integration Specialist is intended to be permanent, section 76-16(b)(32), Hawaii Revised Statutes, should be amended to include that position.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2443, H.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

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

____________________________

CHRIS TODD, Chair