SB 239 Hawaii Senate · 2025 Regular Session

RELATING TO DISASTER PREPAREDNESS.

Summary

Requires certain state buildings, including public school buildings, for which construction is anticipated to commence on or after 7/1/2026 to be designed to withstand category five hurricanes and be used as shelters in the event of an emergency. (SD1)

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2025 Last action Feb 11, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SB239 → SB239_SD1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

SB 239 was amended to clarify which state buildings must be hurricane-resistant, change the effective date for new construction requirements, and add specific design criteria for shelters. These changes aim to ensure that critical state facilities can protect large populations during extreme weather events while excluding certain structures like correctional facilities.

Scope change

The bill now applies only to fully enclosed state buildings with shelter capacity intended for category five hurricanes, excluding correctional facilities, covered playgrounds, and sheds. It also changed the construction start date from January 1, 2026 to July 1, 2026.

REQUIREMENT

Added specific design requirements for shelters including full enclosure, population capacity, and hurricane resistance for category five events

Added detailed shelter criteria requiring buildings to be fully enclosed and capable of sheltering large populations

TIMELINE

Changed the construction start date for new hurricane-resistant buildings from January 1, 2026 to July 1, 2026

DEFINITION

Added explicit exclusions for correctional facilities, covered playgrounds, and sheds from the shelter requirements

ELIGIBILITY

Narrowed applicability to only state buildings meeting specific shelter design criteria rather than all public buildings

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 11, 2025

Committee

Reported from GVO/PSM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 230) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.

upper

Feb 4, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee on GVO reconsidered its previous decision.

upper

Feb 4, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on GVO recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in GVO were as follows: 3 Aye(s): Senator(s) McKelvey, Moriwaki, San Buenaventura; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 2 Excused: Senator(s) Gabbard, Fevella.

upper

Jan 31, 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

Jan 27, 2025

Upper · Passed

The committee(s) on GVO/PSM has scheduled a public hearing on 01-31-25 3:00PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.

upper

Jan 17, 2025

Committee

Referred to GVO/PSM, WAM.

upper

Jan 15, 2025

Introduced

Introduced and passed First Reading.

upper

Jan 13, 2025

Introduced

Pending Introduction.

upper

3 primary · 0 co-sponsors