Hawaii House Bill HB659

Hawaii 2025 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/21/25
• Refer: 1/21/25

Caption

Relating To Hurricane Resistant Criteria.

Summary

HB659 amends Hawaii’s state building design statute to require the State to consider hurricane resistant criteria when designing and constructing new state buildings. The bill applies to state buildings constructed on or after July 1, 2025, and ties the requirement to the buildings’ capability of serving as shelter refuge during hurricanes. It also states that the policy previously applied to new public schools should be extended to all new state buildings. The bill’s findings explain that the prior statutory language on hurricane-resistant criteria for public schools was enacted through Act 84 (2018), but that subsection was later invalidated because the enactment process was found unconstitutional in League of Women Voters of Honolulu v. State of Hawaii. HB659 reinstates that policy in a broader form by placing it directly into section 107-27, Hawaii Revised Statutes, covering all new state buildings rather than only schools. The bill does not appear to change county building codes, but it does direct state construction planning to incorporate hurricane resilience alongside existing building-code compliance and other sustainability requirements.

Impact

HB659 would amend section 107-27, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by replacing the invalidated school-specific hurricane-resistance language with a new requirement for all new state buildings constructed on or after July 1, 2025. In practical terms, state agencies responsible for public construction would need to account for hurricane-resistant design features when planning and building new facilities, especially where those buildings may serve as shelter refuge. The bill would affect public works, design professionals, and state capital improvement projects, while leaving the existing building-code framework and other energy, water, and carbon-reduction requirements in place.

Sentiment

The bill appears generally supportive and policy-driven, with the legislature expressly finding that the hurricane-resistant criteria policy is meritorious and worth preserving after the earlier provision was invalidated on constitutional grounds. The available materials do not show committee debate, recorded votes, or opposition, so the overall sentiment in the record is one of reaffirming and expanding an existing resilience policy rather than introducing a controversial new concept. The framing suggests broad interest in disaster preparedness and safer public infrastructure.

Contention

The main point of contention reflected in the bill text is not the substance of hurricane-resistant design, but the legal history of the prior statute. The legislature acknowledges that the earlier public-school requirement was struck down because the enactment process was unconstitutional, and HB659 is drafted to cure that problem by reenacting the policy in a new form. Any practical debate would likely center on implementation costs, feasibility, and how much hurricane-resistant design should be required for state buildings that may function as shelters, but no specific opposition or competing viewpoints are shown in the provided record.