SB 1383 Hawaii Senate · 2025 Regular Session

RELATING TO FIRE PROTECTION.

Summary

Amends the laws concerning the Office of the State Fire Marshal to best effectuate the recommendations of the "Phase 3" Forward-Looking Report by Fire Safety Research Institute on the August 2023 Maui wildfires. (SD1)

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 21, 2025 Last action Feb 7, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SB1383 → SB1383_SD1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill reorganizes Hawaii's fire protection laws by moving the Office of the State Fire Marshal from the Department of Labor to the Department of Defense, strengthening the office's authority to enforce statewide fire codes, and expanding its wildfire readiness capabilities. The changes aim to improve emergency response following the 2023 Maui wildfires by giving the fire marshal more power to investigate fires, standardize equipment, and coordinate with local agencies.

Scope change

The bill expands the state fire marshal's jurisdiction to include greater enforcement authority, defensible space requirements, and wildfire mitigation coordination, while transferring administrative oversight from the Department of Labor to the Department of Defense.

SCOPE

Transferred the Office of the State Fire Marshal from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to the Department of Defense for administrative purposes.

REQUIREMENT

Established minimum defensible space requirements that counties must enforce, with priority given to vulnerable communities, critical infrastructure, and schools.

Required counties to adopt state building codes within two years and prohibited them from adopting less stringent fire safety standards than the state.

ENFORCEMENT

Gave the state fire marshal expanded powers to investigate fires, adopt statewide fire codes, and preempt county rules that are less stringent than state standards.

DEFINITION

Added new definitions for key terms including 'defensible space' and 'fire protection equipment' to clarify enforcement standards.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 7, 2025

Committee

Reported from PSM/LBT (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 80) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM/JDC.

upper

Feb 3, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on PSM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in PSM were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Elefante, Wakai, Fukunaga, Rhoads, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Feb 3, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on LBT recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in LBT were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Aquino, Lee, C., Ihara, Moriwaki, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.

upper

Jan 28, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on PSM/LBT has scheduled a public hearing on 02-03-25 3:00PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 27, 2025

Committee

Referred to PSM/LBT, WAM/JDC.

upper

Jan 23, 2025

Introduced

Introduced and passed First Reading.

upper

Jan 21, 2025

Introduced

Pending Introduction.

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors