Senate Standing Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs

Good afternoon. We are convening this afternoon's committee on public safety and military affairs at 03:02pm in Conference Room 016 to consider, several resolutions. This meeting is being streamed live on YouTube. In the unlikely event that we have to end this hearing due to technical difficulties, the committee will reconvene to discuss any outstanding business on Monday, April 6 at 3PM I'm sorry, at 3PM in Conference Room 016, and a public notice will be posted on the legislature's website. Each testifier will be given two minutes to testify.

If you have already submitted written testimony, please limit your time to highlighting important facts or standing on your testimony. Chair would like to start on Senate Concurrent Resolution 28, requesting the Department of Defense to convene a working group to develop recommendations for a state of Hawaii commemorative Vietnam veterans medal.

And we have a number of written testimonies that have been submitted. And we also have testimony on behalf of Hawaii Office of Veterans Services submitted by John Alamodin in support. Is Mr. Alamodin here? If not, we will turn to Department of Defense testifying for Major General Stephen Logan, General Mitsuyoshi. Yes. Welcome.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair. The department stands on its written testimony in support and appreciates this particular resolution and here to answer any questions you may have.

Okay. Thank you very much. Next, we had written testimony in support submitted by Maui County Veterans Council. Nā Koa Kahiko Wahine, also in support. And we have for VFW Department of Hawaii, Jame Schaedel. Please come forward. Thank you for joining us.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. So used to Public Safety in the House. My name is Jame Schaedel on behalf of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of Hawaii, standing in supporting the intent of the resolution requesting amendments. And we'll stand by for any questions that the committee may have.

Okay. Thank you so very much. Next, we have written testimonies in support from Oahu Veterans Council. Also individuals Isaac Choy, Wesley Oda, Calvin Nomiyama, Lieutenant Colonel Jason Kuroiwa, retired, Robert Lee, Ken Ito, and Mary Kay Hertog. Is there anyone else who would like to comment on this resolution this afternoon? Please come forward.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair. University of Hawaii West Oahu, Dave McDonald. We did support or submit late testimony. Summarizing it quickly, we are not only supportive, we're grateful for this action and this attempt to recognize a group of soldiers who are long overdue recognition.

Having hosted the Wall That Heals, I saw firsthand the power and the importance of having public recognition and public moments of honor for these individuals. So we support and we are willing to support the manner we can on the actions of the working group. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Next, anyone else who would like to testify? If not, then Chair would like to request Mr. Schaedel and also General Mitsuyoshi, if you might come forward for some additional questions.

I know that, you know, one of the questions that we had previously posed to Department of Defense was whether or not your records would enable us to identify all of the Hawaii veterans who served, you know, in the Vietnam War and whether or not you thought it was feasible and possible to be able to notify, you know, individuals who might be eligible.

Yeah. So, yes, Chair, we don't have a complete answer, but we did do some research and we did find that through the National Registry it is probably difficult and nearly impossible to identify all of the members. But I think we can identify those members that have the service campaign medal. And with that, we would be able to at least identify those.

And I think a large effort would need to be put in terms of a marketing campaign to make to make sure that the word is out so that we can also receive applications to process applications to ensure that we cover those that feel that they are eligible but didn't get notified for the member, which would include family members.

Okay. Okay. I know the the process is kind of difficult, you know, at this time. It's it's been a while, and we do wanna, you know, move forward as quickly as possible given, you know, people's advancing age.

So we would be interested in, you know, looking to see how we might support and expedite your review and identification process. Mr. Schaedel, do you have any additional recommendations with respect to possible identification of Hawaii veterans, you know, from the Vietnam War era?

If a request is offered by or from OVS, we would we would, assist as necessary. We can then ID through our membership who the Vietnam veterans are and get the word out to them.

Okay. Thank you very much. I think this, you know, this recognition is so long overdue in many respects. It's important that we, you know, move as quickly as possible. And so the preliminary discussions with Department of Defense and Office of Veterans Affairs is, you know, has been primarily focusing on looking to see how best to identify people who would be eligible and that we would wanna notify. If you have any further comments or recommendations.

The only other comment is I appreciate the comment by veterans organizations because I think we will have to work closely with veterans organizations. And I think the working group provides what we need to ensure that we are inclusive with not only government agencies, but also veteran aid veteran organizations.

Thank you. Perhaps for anyone else who would like to comment on this resolution. You know, Eddie and Sue, if you would like to comment a little bit on some of the experiences that you observed, you know, during the Wall that Heals exhibit at UH West Oahu Campus, that would be very, very helpful.

Chair, Vice Chair, thank you for the invitation to come today. In regards to identifying Hawaii veterans that participated in the war, the one problem we came up with was every Hawaii warrior did not specifically say Hawaii was their home of record.

So we have some veterans that are from Hawaii that are not gonna be listed in the records that the Department of Defense and everybody's gonna be searching and looking for. I'm trying to figure out the resolution that we looked at or came into. The list that the DOD came up with, we published it in the newspaper on a Sunday, page two with all of the Hawaii veterans on it that were killed in action.

So now that proved difficult because there's a totally different number that's out there with the community out there as far as my brother was not listed because of this reason. He's in California, Nevada, whatever. So now it's gonna have a little bit of a bump in the road there when it comes to trying to identify these people by records that the DOD is gonna be searching.

That was, that was the only thing we had as far as identifying who came from Hawaii. Now the other, the other question came up about how are we gonna identify from the Hawaii veteran? If I'm not mistaken here, it didn't, it came up to be it's almost impossible because they are not, they're not here anymore for one thing.

They're not here listed in Hawaii at all. Their relatives are here that have their records and show you that they were here or whatever. But now how they're gonna make a determination on that is gonna be totally up to them how they're gonna make that decision.

Well, I think that's why the, you know, the idea of a working group kind of develop some criteria and, you know, recommendations on sort of application process so that if some people are not initially identified, you know, then there's a way for them to also identify themselves.

And so the goal was to come up with a process that would be speedy but also as inclusive as possible under the circumstances and to get moving as quickly as possible. Because, you know, for many of the individuals, you know, they're, yes, they're sort of aging out. And we do wanna make sure that, you know, this is completed, you know, in their lifetimes.

And now the the process that we were following is is from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation. We were trying to use the same method of deciding who's from Hawaii using the same method they used. And that was where we got all of our data from was the DOD as far as Hawaii, who's from Hawaii, who's really from Hawaii, that kind of thing. But like I said, you will find a little bump in the road there for sure.

Well, I think the main thing is if we, you know, have, participants who can provide, you know, some supportive information, then that way, at least in this initial process, we think that we'll be able to catch as broad a net as possible. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

Okay. Anyone else here who would like to comment on this resolution? Please come forward. Please come forward. Because this is being streamed on the legislative website, we need to have you speak into the microphone.

Good afternoon, Chair Fukunaga, Vice Chair Lee. John Alamodin, state of Hawaii Department of Defense, Office of Veterans Services. In addition to the testimony submitted, perhaps what I can share with regard to current efforts, for example, regarding the working group for the GWOT Memorial.

And so the working committee is navigating the same kinda issue regarding the the Hawaii piece, regarding Hawaii resident, unit attached to Hawaii. One of the things, for example, in terms of let's say someone who was born in Hawaii whose parents were stationed here. And let's say that individual perhaps stayed during about a year before family PCS to another location.

And let's say perhaps and that individual born here enters military service but does not necessarily return back to Hawaii in any form. Would someone like that be considered someone like Hawaii, Hawaii eligible for for memorialization on the GWOT Memorial?

So I just share that example in that perhaps the work of the committee as they navigate through what that Hawaii definition looks like and operationalize then that perhaps can be maybe not exactly duplicated but certainly can serve as a model for this working group for the Vietnam state medal.

Okay. Well, I think that would be our goal. That you utilize, you know, some of the criteria and procedures that have been applied previously. And then as long as there's also an application process, anybody else who is eligible but, you know, was not initially identified has a means of adding themselves to the group. Thank you. Any further questions? Okay. If not, thank you very much. Okay.

We will next turn to our second resolution on the agenda while we seek to get a quorum for our decision making session. Next resolutions on the agenda are senate concurrent resolution one eighty and senate resolution one seventy five, which urge state agencies that own or control land in West Maui to implement and enforce aggressive vegetation management, fuel reduction, defensible space, and emergency access measures to reduce wildfire risk to Lahaina and the surrounding communities. And we have written testimonies submitted by department. I'm sorry.

Hawaii Housing Finance Development Corporation. Is anyone from HHFDC here this afternoon?

They have submitted written testimony, generally in support. Also, Department of Land and Natural Resources, which raises a number of concerns with respect to, let me see, aligning with some of the recommendations that the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, which is responsible for creating a statewide wildfire plan, meets a lot of what have been requested in the resolution. Is there anyone else here who would like to testify on this pair of resolutions? If not, let's see. We don't really have anyone to ask questions of.

We'll turn to our third pair of resolutions, Senate Concurrent Resolution 54 and Senate Resolution 52, requesting the state fire marshal to appoint a hydrogen fire safety expert and provide training on hydrogen related protocols. For our testimony this afternoon, we have Roxanna Beck Mohammadi on Zoom. Welcome. Please proceed.

Good afternoon, chair and members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to today. My name is Roxanna Beck Mohammadi, and I represent the United States Hydrogen Alliance. It's a national organization working to advance hydrogen deployment across all 50 states through policy market development and education. We're here in support of SCR 54 and SR 52.

As hydrogen technologies continue to emerge across transportation, energy storage, and grid resilience, it is critical that safety frameworks evolve alongside them. Ensuring that fire safety professionals have access to the appropriate expertise and training is a practical and necessary step for responsible deployment. This resolution takes an important proactive approach by recommending the appointment of a hydrogen safety expert and expanding training opportunities for first responders and inspectors.

These actions will help ensure alignment with national recognized codes and best practices while building confidence among communities, developers, and public agencies. I thank you for your time and consideration, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thank you. Thank you. Let's see. Is there anyone else who would like to testify on this pair of resolutions? If not, questions?

K. Chair has one question for Usha, which would be, are you familiar with, how other states have adopted or implemented your recommendation? Because we're just in the process of reestablishing the state fire marshal operation, And, it's it's not entirely clear, you know, how extensive the work of this hydrogen specialist would have to be. So would your organization be, providing technical or any kind of recommendations and assistance to the office, you know, in in moving forward if this resolution were to be adopted?

Absolutely. And we have similar proposals in different states. So the state of New York is running something similar. The state of Pennsylvania is adopting that through the governor's office currently, and this has been adopted in the state of California as well. And we look forward to actually supporting all states in this endeavor, and we do that through multiple means.

We work closely with Senator Wakai, actually, on hydrogen related items. We absolutely can bring expertise, different centers, national labs, the Federal Government to also assist as well as private companies. One company we work with in particular that's a member is Johnson Hughes, and they are fire engineers. And they're even working on AI type of software that would allow first responders to be able to start training and learning on their own. But there's absolutely materials out there, and we certainly can be an asset to the state.

Okay. Thank you very much. Any further questions, members? If not, thank you. We're gonna take a brief recess, and we'll be right back.

Thank you. We are reconvening this committee on public safety and military affairs meeting to take action on several resolutions. First resolution is Senate concurrent resolution 28 requesting the Department of Defense to convene a working group to develop recommendations for a state of Hawaii commemorative Vietnam Veterans Medal. Chair recommends that we pass this measure with amendments recommended by the VFW Hawaii group and to note that, the timing is especially important as people are, kind of passing on.

And we do wanna really utilize this year as an opportunity to redouble our efforts to recognize our Vietnam veterans while they're still present.

So with that, Vice Chair Lee for the vote.

Voting on SCR 28, the recommendation is to pass with amendments. Chair and vice chair vote aye. Senator Hashimoto?

Aye.

And Senator Inouye and tecourt, excused.

Recommendations adopted.

Thank you. For the next, pair of resolutions, Senate Concurrent Resolution 180 and SR175. Chair recommends that we pass this pair of resolutions in an unamended form, noting in the committee report the recommendations from Department of Land and Natural Resources that the, efforts requested align with some of the work that is gonna be done by the HWMO group as they, undertake the, implementation of the attorney general's, post fire report. Any questions, comments? If not, Vice Chair Lee.

Voting on SCR 180 and SR 175. Recommendations to pass unamended, noting excused absence of senators Inouye and DeCorte. Are there any reservations or no's? Hearing none, the recommendations are adopted.

K. And on the last pair of resolutions, Senate concurrent Resolution 54 and Senate Resolution 52, requesting the state fire marshal to appoint a hydrogen fire safety expert and provide training on hydrogen related safety protocols. Again, passing in an unamended form, noting the willingness of u h USHA to assist in implementing some of the recommendations from their testimony.

Voting on SCR 54 and SR 52, noting excused absence of Senator DeCorte. Are there any reservations or no's? Hearing none, the recommendations are adopted.

Okay. Thank you very much, everyone. Oh, sorry. I missed the hold.

No. You heard that.

You hear it.

This last one. No.

Here are the last one. We are adjourned.