HB596 • 2026

RELATING TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.

Firearms

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: POEPOE, GRANDINETTI, IWAMOTO, LAMOSAO, MARTEN, MIYAKE, PERRUSO, SOUZA, TAKENOUCHI
Last action: 2026-04-02
Official status: Received notice of the discharge of all House Conferees (Hse. Com. No. 457).
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on how emergency management agencies should respond to these events, nor does it explicitly state updates to a list of events. The effective date is clearly stated as July 1, 2050.

Emergency Management Law

This law clarifies what events are considered disasters and emergencies in Hawaii.

What This Bill Does

Defines a 'disaster' as the occurrence or imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, loss of life, property, or environmental harm from sudden natural or artificial causes such as hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, explosions, hazardous material accidents, disease outbreaks, bioterrorism, terrorism, and incidents involving weapons of mass destruction.
Defines an 'emergency' as a situation where immediate action is needed to prevent or minimize catastrophic harm to the population or substantial damage to property or the environment.

Who It Names or Affects

People who live, work, or visit Hawaii
Emergency management agencies

Terms To Know

Disaster: The occurrence or imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, loss of life, property, or environmental harm from sudden natural or artificial causes.
Emergency: A situation where immediate action is needed to prevent or minimize catastrophic harm to the population or substantial damage to property or the environment.

Limits and Unknowns

The law will not take effect until July 1, 2050.
It does not specify how emergency management agencies should respond to these events.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: This amendment changes the definitions of 'disaster' and 'emergency' to include more specific types of events that can cause widespread damage, injury, loss, or require assistance from other entities.

The definition of 'disaster' now includes a list of specific event types such as hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, and terrorism.
The definition of 'emergency' is updated to describe an occurrence or imminent threat that may cause catastrophic harm and immediate danger to the population.

The amendment does not specify how these changes will be implemented or enforced beyond defining them in statute.

SD1

Hawaii published version SD1

The definition of 'disaster' now includes a list of specific event types such as hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, and terrorism.
The definition of 'emergency' is updated to describe an occurrence or imminent threat that may cause catastrophic harm and immediate danger to the population.

The amendment does not specify how these definitions will be applied in practice beyond clarifying what events qualify as disasters and emergencies.
It's unclear how the new definitions will affect current emergency management practices or policies.

Bill History

2026-04-02 S
Received notice of the discharge of all House Conferees (Hse. Com. No. 457).
2026-04-01 H
House Conferee(s) discharged.
2025-12-08 D
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
2025-04-15 S
Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 732).
2025-04-14 H
House Conferees Appointed: Belatti, Lamosao Co-Chairs; Poepoe, Souza.
2025-04-11 S
Received notice of disagreement (Hse. Com. No. 704).
2025-04-10 H
House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).
2025-04-08 H
Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 656) in amended form (SD 1).
2025-04-08 S
Report Adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 1). Ayes, 24; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Moriwaki, San Buenaventura. Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 1 (Senator(s) McKelvey). Transmitted to House.
2025-04-04 S
48 Hrs. Notice 04-08-25.
2025-04-04 S
Reported from WAM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1835) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading, as amended (SD 1).
2025-04-04 S
The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WAM were as follows: 12 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, Aquino, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 1 Excused: Senator(s) Lee, C..
2025-04-02 S
The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 04-04-25 10:46AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.
2025-03-18 S
Report adopted; Passed Second Reading and referred to WAM.
2025-03-18 S
Reported from PSM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1123) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading and referral to WAM.
2025-03-12 S
The committee(s) on PSM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes in PSM were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Elefante, Wakai, Fukunaga, Rhoads, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.
2025-03-07 S
The committee(s) on PSM has scheduled a public hearing on 03-12-25 3:00PM; Conference Room 225 & Videoconference.
2025-03-04 S
Referred to PSM, WAM.
2025-03-04 S
Passed First Reading.
2025-03-04 S
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 111).
2025-02-28 H
Passed Third Reading with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Pierick, Templo, Ward excused (4). Transmitted to Senate.
2025-02-28 H
Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 941), recommending passage on Third Reading.
2025-02-24 H
The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 15 Ayes: Representative(s) Yamashita, Takenouchi, Grandinetti, Holt, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lamosao, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Templo, Alcos, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Ward.
2025-02-21 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Monday, 02-24-25 10:00AM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-02-13 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Kitagawa, Ward excused (3).
2025-02-13 H
Reported from PBS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 545) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.
2025-01-31 H
The committee on PBS recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Belatti, Iwamoto, Hashem, Ichiyama, Lamosao, Morikawa, Poepoe, Shimizu, Souza; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 1 Excused: Representative(s) Woodson.
2025-01-29 H
Bill scheduled for decision making on Friday, 01-31-25 10:00AM in conference room 411 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-01-29 H
The committee(s) on PBS recommend(s) that the measure be deferred until 01-31-25.
2025-01-24 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by PBS on Wednesday, 01-29-25 9:00AM in House conference room 411 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-01-21 H
Referred to PBS, FIN, referral sheet 2
2025-01-21 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2025-01-17 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
Emergency Management; Disasters; Emergencies; Definitions
Clarifies the types of events that constitute disasters and emergencies for the purposes of emergency management. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD1)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB596

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

596

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

����
SECTION
1
.
�
Section 127A-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended as follows:

����
1.
�
By amending the definition of
"disaster" to read:

����
"
"Disaster" means [
any
emergency,
]
the occurrence
or imminent threat [
thereof, which re
sults
or may likely result in
]
of widespread or severe damage, injury, or
loss of
life, property, or environment
resulting from any sudden natural or
artificial cause, including hurricanes, windstorms, floods, extreme rain
events, earthquakes, landslides, mudslides, volcanic action, tsunamis, fires,
explosions, air or water contamination, blight, droughts, infestations, riots,
sabotage, hostile military or paramilitary action, disruption of state
services, hazardous material accidents, disease or contagion outbreaks,
bioterrorism, terrorism, or incidents involving weapons of mass destruction,

and requires, or may require, assistance from other counties, states, the
federal government, or from private agencies."

����
2.
�
By amending the definition of
"emergency" to read:

����
"
"Emergency" means [
any
]

the
occurrence, or imminent threat thereof, [
which results or may
likely result in substantial injury or
]
of a disaster that causes or may
be likely to cause catastrophic
harm
and immediate danger
to the
population [
or
]
,
substantial damage to or loss of property
,

or substantial damage to or loss of the environment[
.
]
and that
timely action can avert or minimize.
"

����
SECTION
2.
�
Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory
material is underscored.

����
SECTION 3.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Emergency
Management; Disasters; Emergencies; Definitions

Description:

Clarifies
the types of events that constitute disasters and emergencies for the purposes
of emergency management.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.