STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2591

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 3191

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Government Operations and Public Safety and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 3191 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO A DEPARTMENT OF WATER SAFETY AND DROWNING PREVENTION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Establish the Department of Water Safety and Drowning Prevention;

(2) Establish the position of Director of Water Safety and Drowning Prevention;

(3) Establish the position of Deputy Director of Water Safety and Drowning Prevention; and

(4) Appropriate funds for the establishment of positions within the Department.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from two individuals.

Your Committees find that drowning is a tragic yet preventable cause of injury and death, however, the State currently has the second highest rate of deaths by drowning in the country, and drowning is the leading cause of death for children in the State. Furthermore, recent policy has not prioritized drowning prevention and water safety, resulting in a chronic shortage of resources and funding for water safety and drowning prevention organizations. Your Committees recognize that the State previously prioritized water safety and swim education, including the opening of the Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial in 1927, where thousands of children in the State learned to swim. This measure will revive the prudent and community-focused role of the State by investing in water safety education and preventing future drowning fatalities among its residents.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2525, to encourage further discussion; and

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

Your Committees note that this measure, as amended, contains an appropriation for an unspecified amount and an unspecified number of full-time equivalent (FTE) positions. Should your Committees on Ways and Means and Judiciary choose to deliberate on this measure, your Committees respectfully request that they consider inserting an appropriate amount and number of FTE positions.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Government Operations and Public Safety and Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 3191, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3191, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committees on Ways and Means and Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Government Operations and Public Safety and Military Affairs,

________________________________ CAROL FUKUNAGA, Chair

________________________________ ANGUS L.K. MCKELVEY, Chair