HB982 addresses Hawaii’s wildfire risk by creating a Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs working group to study the possible creation of a Wildfire Recovery Fund. The bill does not itself establish the fund or change utility liability rules; instead, it directs the working group to analyze how such a fund might operate, including its size, governance structure, and whether an administrative claims process could provide faster and lower-cost compensation than civil litigation.
The working group is also tasked with comparing similar funds in other states and assessing how those models have affected electric utilities’ credit ratings. It must include representatives from state agencies, the Public Utilities Commission, consumer advocacy and insurance divisions, and invited representatives from Hawaiian Electric, Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, and property insurers. The group must report findings and any proposed legislation to the Legislature before the 2026 regular session. The act’s effective date is set for July 1, 3000, which indicates it is intended as a placeholder or study measure rather than immediate operative law.
Impact
The bill would create a new interagency working group within DCCA and require a formal legislative report, but it would not immediately amend existing wildfire liability, insurance, or utility statutes. Its practical legal effect is to initiate a policy study that could lead to future legislation on a wildfire recovery fund, including possible administrative compensation mechanisms and potential limitations on litigation exposure for utilities. The measure could affect regulated electric utilities, insurers, property owners, renters, and businesses if follow-on legislation is enacted.
Sentiment
The available vote history suggests broad support in the Senate committees that considered the measure, with unanimous passage in both the Senate Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee and the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee, each passing the bill with amendments. The bill’s findings frame the proposal as a response to catastrophic wildfire risk and the need for a faster, less costly compensation process. Overall, the sentiment appears generally favorable toward studying a fund-based solution, while still refining the details through amendments.
Contention
The main points of contention are likely the size and governance of any future wildfire recovery fund, how claims would be administered, and how the proposal would balance compensation for victims with the financial stability of regulated utilities. The bill explicitly calls for study of the fund’s impact on utility credit ratings, signaling concern about whether a recovery fund could protect or burden utility finances. Participation by Hawaiian Electric, Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, insurers, regulators, and consumer advocates suggests differing interests over liability, funding, and administrative design, even though no committee opposition is reflected in the vote record provided.
A resolution to direct the Clerk of the House of Representatives to only present to the Governor enrolled House bills finally passed by both houses of the One Hundred Third Legislature.
Relating to nonsubstantive additions to, revisions of, and corrections in enacted codes, to the nonsubstantive codification or disposition of various laws omitted from enacted codes, and to conforming codifications enacted by the 88th Legislature to other Acts of that legislature.