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.

HCR41

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

41

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

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
serv
e

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)
�
A
dopt
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.

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:
�

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