HB2443 is a disaster services bill focused on improving Hawaii’s emergency planning and response for people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs. It finds that many residents face barriers during disasters, including evacuation, transportation, accessible alerts, shelter access, medical care, and post-disaster assistance. The bill specifically points to the 2023 Maui wildfires as evidence that existing systems did not adequately serve people with disabilities and that state and county agencies lacked a coordinated, disability-informed response.
The measure amends the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency’s statutory duties to require disability integration across emergency planning, preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. It also creates a new Disability Integration Specialist position within HIEMA, to serve as the agency’s emergency management specialist and support disability community projects that promote accessibility, inclusion, and equity. The bill appropriates $100,000 for fiscal year 2026-2027 to fund one full-time exempt position for this purpose, and it takes effect on July 1, 2026.
Impact
HB2443 changes Hawaii Revised Statutes section 127A-3 to add explicit disability-access responsibilities to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, including compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and related disability access laws. It also amends the civil service exemption statute, section 76-16, to add the disability integration specialist to the list of exempt positions at HIEMA. In practical terms, the bill creates a dedicated state-level role to coordinate accessible disaster services and to advise on shelters, evacuation procedures, communications, and county-level continuity of preparedness and response.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have received strong and largely unanimous support throughout the Senate process, with committee votes passing 5-0 in both Public Safety/Intergovernmental/Military Affairs and Health and Human Services, and 12-0 in Ways and Means. Conference committees in both chambers also passed the measure without recorded opposition. The overall sentiment reflected in the bill text and voting history is favorable, with the legislation framed as a needed response to documented gaps in disaster services for people with disabilities after the Maui wildfires.
Contention
The main policy issue underlying the bill is not whether disability access should be improved, but how to structure and fund that work within state emergency management. The bill distinguishes disability access from limited English proficiency language access, emphasizing that American Sign Language and disability-related communication needs are governed by disability law rather than language access statutes. It also implicitly addresses whether HIEMA needs a dedicated specialist and whether that position should be exempt from civil service; the bill answers both questions affirmatively. No significant recorded opposition appears in the available votes, suggesting any contention was limited or resolved through amendments and conference negotiations.
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.