STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1863-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.R. No. 190

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committees on Public Safety and Water & Land, to which was referred H.R. No. 190 entitled:

"HOUSE RESOLUTION URGING THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE TO REASSESS PRIOR DETERMINATIONS AND CLOSURE DECISIONS UNDER THE COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSE, COMPENSATION, AND LIABILITY ACT IN LIGHT OF EVOLVING SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF PER- AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES AND RECENT FEDERAL HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE DESIGNATIONS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to urge the United States Department of Defense to reassess prior determinations and closure decisions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act in light of evolving scientific understanding of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and recent federal hazardous substance designations.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Honolulu Board of Water Supply; Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi; Hawaii Reef and Ocean Coalition and Climate Protectors Hawaii; and two individuals.

Your Committees find that an inherent tension exists between the operational autonomy of federal military installations within Hawaii and the State's constitutional obligations to safeguard public health, water resources, and the environment. Your Committees further find that the recent federal designation of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) compounds as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, together with evolving scientific understanding of PFAS persistence, mobility, and exposure pathways, warrants reassessment of prior investigative determinations. Your Committees also find that the State is presently engaged in, or anticipates engaging in, negotiations and decision-making concerning military leases of state-owned lands, and informed lease determinations require full transparency regarding environmental contamination, monitoring status, investigative scope, and long-term remediation obligations.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Public Safety and Water & Land that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of H.R. No. 190 and recommend its adoption.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Public Safety and Water & Land,

____________________________ MARK J. HASHEM, Chair

____________________________ DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair