STAND. COM. REP. NO. 734-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 2554

H.D. 2

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 2554, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO SEARCH AND RESCUE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to temporarily establish, within the Office of the Governor, the Office of the State Search and Rescue Coordinator to review, assess, coordinate, prepare, and manage plans and resources for search and rescue operations statewide.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Kauaʻi Search and Rescue; Hawaiʻi SAR Alliance; Civil Air Patrol Hawaii Wing; and one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Office of Information Practices; Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency; and one individual.

Your Committee finds that Hawaii's decentralized search and rescue system results in delayed responses, operational inefficiencies, and gaps in statewide coordination, which place the public and first responders at risk. This measure will help enhance public safety and reduce long-term costs by improving prevention, coordination, and accountability in search and rescue operations statewide.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the appointment process for the State Search and Rescue Coordinator to make it a civil service position selected by the Governor, in accordance with civil service laws and collective bargaining, and not subject to Senate advice and consent;

(2) Deleting language specifying that the reports may be subject to a fee for printing and distribution; and

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

Your Committee respectfully requests your Committee on Finance, should it deliberate on this measure, to work with the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency to determine the cost for the establishment and administration of the Office of the State Search and Rescue Coordinator.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2554, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2554, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,

____________________________

DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair