STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2372

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 3140

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 3140 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent 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 the State Fire Council has important safety responsibilities related to fire protection and prevention throughout the State. These public safety responsibilities are closely aligned with the responsibilities of the Department of Law Enforcement, which also maintains statewide public safety. Additionally, the Department of Law Enforcement has supported recent legislative initiatives to establish the Office of the State Fire Marshal as an attached agency to the Department. Transferring administrative and budgetary responsibility for the State Fire Council from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to the Department of Law Enforcement, as this measure does, would support public safety, improve decision-making capacity, promote accountability, streamline communication, decrease costs, and reduce duplicative public safety efforts.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3140 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs,

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CAROL FUKUNAGA, Chair