HB 673 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.

Summary

Amends chapter 127A, HRS, to clarify state and county authority. Prohibits the Governor or a mayor from suspending requests for public records or vital specifics during a state of emergency. Adds definition of the term "severe warning". Allows the Legislature and county councils to terminate a state of emergency, in whole or in part, issued by the Governor or a mayor, respectively. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 17, 2025 Last action Dec 8, 2025

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What changed between versions

HB673 → HB673_HD1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends Hawaii's emergency management laws to clarify the legal framework for suspending public records requests during emergencies and to update the definition of severe weather warnings. It also changes the effective date of the act to July 1, 3000, and modifies the description of who can terminate emergency declarations from city councils to county councils.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of emergency management authority by explicitly prohibiting the suspension of public records and vital statistics requests during emergencies, while updating the definition of severe warnings to include volcanic activity.

REQUIREMENT

Prohibits the Governor or Mayor from suspending agency response deadlines for public records requests (Chapter 92F) or vital records requests (Section 338-18) during an emergency.

DEFINITION

Updates the definition of 'severe warning' to explicitly include 'volcanic activity' alongside existing hazards like hurricanes and tsunamis.

TIMELINE

Changes the effective date of the Act from immediate approval to July 1, 3000.

SCOPE

Corrects the description of emergency termination authority from 'city councils' to 'county councils' to align with the state's structure.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 13, 2025

Committee

Reported from PBS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 546) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

lower

Jan 31, 2025

Lower · Passed

The committee on PBS recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Belatti, Iwamoto, Hashem, Ichiyama, Lamosao, Morikawa, Poepoe, Shimizu, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Woodson.

lower

Jan 21, 2025

Committee

Referred to PBS, JHA, referral sheet 2

lower

Jan 21, 2025

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 17, 2025

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

5 primary · 0 co-sponsors