STAND. COM. REP. NO.
Honolulu, Hawaii
APR 03 , 2025
RE: H.C.R. No. 164
S.D. 1
Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2025
State of Hawaii
Madame:
Your Committee on Public Safety, to which was referred H.C.R.
No. 164 entitled:
“HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING THE CITY AND COUNTY OF
HONOLULU, COUNTY OF MAUI, COUNTY OF HAWAII, AND COUNTY OF
KAUAI TO CREATE AND MAINTAIN A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF
HURRICANE REFUGES AND SHELTERS ELECTRONICALLY ACCESSIBLE TO
THE PUBLIC,”
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to ensure up—to-date
information about hurricane refuges and shelters is available to
the public electronically, on a government-run website, with the
following minimum criteria: facility name, address, relevant site—
specific instructions; category of hurricane the shelter or refuge
area can sustain; capacity limit; pet—friendliness designation;
and special needs accommodation designation.
Your Committee received testimony from the Department of
Education providing comments, and testimony in support from the
State Council on Developmental Disabilities, the Hawaii Climate
Change Health Working Group, and three individuals.
Your Committee recognizes Hawaii’s rising risk of
experiencing extreme weather events, the importance of
electronically accessible information so that the public can seek
HCR164 HD1 HSCR PBS
 STAND. CON. REP. NO.
Page 2
refuge at a moment’s notice, and the current lack of a
comprehensive list of hurricane refuges and shelters throughout
the entire state. Your committee also finds that though an
electronically accessible listing of all emergency refuges and
shelters is critical, there needs to be a disclaimer explaining
that not all locations will necessarily be opened during a
particular emergency because the designating of emergency refuges
and shelters are determined and announced at the time an emergency
is declared.
Your committee also concurs with the appropriateness of
changing the outdated term “special needs” to “access and
functional needs” as recommended by the State Council on
Developmental Disabilities.
Your committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Requesting the counties include disclaimers to
their electronically accessible list of refuges and
shelters that makes it clear that not all locations
will necessarily be opened because the designating
of emergency refuges and shelters will be
determined and announced at the time such an
emergency is declared; and
(2) Replacing all “special needs” language with “access
and functional needs”.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Public Safety that is attached to this report, your
Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of f-I.C.R. No. 164,
as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form
attached hereto as H.C.R. No. 164, H.D. 1.
Respectfully submitted on
behalf of the members of the
Committee on Public Safety,
HCR164 HD1 f-ISCR PBS
 State of Hawaii
House of Representatives
The Thirty-third Legislature ~ /~‘ ~“
Record of Votes of the Committee on Public Safety
Bi I/Resolution No.: Committee Referral: Date:
l4C~j(of P1~s 3l~1~~02~5
0 The committee is reconsidering its previous decision on the measure.
The recommendation is to: 0 Pass, unamended (as is) ~1Pass, with amendments (HD) 0 Hold
El Pass short form bill with HD to recommit for future public hearing (recommit)
PBS Members Ayes Ayes (WR) Nays Excused
1. BELATTI, Della Au (C)
~
2. IWAMOTO, Kim Coco (VC) V
~
3. HASHEM, Mark J. V
—
4. ICHIYAMA, Linda
~ —
5. LAMOSAO, Rachele F. /
~-
6. MORIKAWA, Dee 3/
7. POEPOE, Mahina
8. WOODSON, Justin H.
.~
9. SHIMIZU, Garner M. 3/
~
10. SOUZA, Kanani V
TOTAL (10) 0 0
The recommendation is: Adopted ~I Not Adopted
If joint referral, did not support recommendation.
committee acronym(s)
Vice Chair’s or designee’s signature: ‘(JL,LL~ ?1 LA~(..L~t~h
Distribution: Original (White) — Committee Duplicate (Yellow) — Chief Clerk’s Office Duplicate (Pink) — HMSO