HCR 41: requesting certain state buildings designed on or after July 1, 2027, AND intended to serve a secondary purpose as an emergency shelter to be designed to withstand Category 5 hurricanes and be used as shelters in the event of an emergency.

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

requesting certain state buildings designed on or after July 1, 2027, AND intended to serve a secondary purpose as an emergency shelter to be designed to withstand Category 5 hurricanes and be used as shelters in the event of an emergency.

     WHEREAS, with warmer ocean temperatures caused by climate change, the development zone for hurricanes in the eastern and central Pacific has moved northward, significantly increasing the potential for stronger storms and hurricanes crossing the Pacific Ocean to hit or directly affect the State; and

     WHEREAS, the State had previously been protected by surrounding cooler waters and wind shear, which mitigated the threat of hurricanes; however, ocean temperatures around the State have grown warmer, reducing the number of days during which the State experiences trade winds from two hundred ninety‑one in 1973 to two hundred ten in 2009, thereby diminishing the protection provided by wind shear; and

     WHEREAS, warmer seas have also increased the intensity of hurricanes globally and the prevalence of Category 5 hurricanes, which sometimes achieve wind speeds of over two hundred miles per hour and cause extensive damage to buildings and residential structures; and

     WHEREAS, notably, when the most recent Category 5 hurricane, Hurricane Melissa, made landfall in Jamaica in October 2025, over one hundred thousand structures were severely damaged by the storm; and

     WHEREAS, the number of adequate shelters in the State is limited, as demonstrated by a 2022 report from the City and County of Honolulu that the county had sufficient shelter capacity for only one hundred thousand people, due to a lack of shelters that meet the appropriate criteria in the event of a hurricane; and

     WHEREAS, this lack of shelter space in the State, combined with the high risk of damage to residential structures, leaves the public vulnerable to hurricanes and other severe storms, potentially leaving many residents without shelter in the event that a hurricane of Category 3 intensity or greater were to directly impact the State; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2026, the Senate concurring, that all state buildings designed on or after July 1, 2027, and intended to serve a secondary purpose as an emergency shelter are requested to be designed to withstand Category 5 hurricanes and be used as shelters in the event of an emergency; provided that the state buildings are fully enclosed and would serve as large capacity shelters; provided further that state buildings do not include correctional facilities, covered playgrounds, or sheds; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Accounting and General Services is requested to:

     (1)  Act as the lead agency for the purposes of enforcing this requirement in consultation with the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency; and

     (2)  Adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to carry out these requirements; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor; Comptroller; Administrator of Hawaii Emergency Management Agency; Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity; Attorney General; Director of Finance; Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs; Adjutant General; Chairperson of the Board of Education; Superintendent of Education; Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission; Director of Health; Director of Human Resources Development; Director of Human Services; Director of Labor and Industrial Relations; Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources; Director of Law Enforcement; Director of Corrections and Rehabilitation; Director of Taxation; and Director of Transportation; and President of the University of Hawaii System.

Report Title: 

DAGS; HI-EMA; Hurricane Preparedness; Category 5; State Buildings; Shelters; Rules