HR 159 Hawaii House · 2025 Regular Session

URGING THE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU, COUNTY OF MAUI, COUNTY OF HAWAII, AND COUNTY OF KAUAI TO CREATE AND MAINTAIN A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF HURRICANE REFUGES AND SHELTERS ELECTRONICALLY ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC.

House Resolution 159 urges the City and County of Honolulu, County of Maui, County of Hawaii, and County of Kauai to create and maintain an electronic public list of hurricane refuges and shelters. The resolution specifies that the list must include location details, hurricane category capacity (minimum category one), shelter capacity, pet-friendliness, and accessibility accommodations for people with functional needs. It also encourages counties to collaborate with the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency to develop a statewide list, though the resolution does not mandate implementation. The bill is non-binding and focuses on improving public access to critical emergency information during storms.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Apr 2025

House Passage

Apr 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Mar 7, 2025 Last action Apr 3, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HR159 → HR159_HD1 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was reformatted from a deleted House Resolution template to a new House Document (HD1) version with updated metadata and formatting. The substantive policy content remains largely the same, though some text was slightly modified for clarity (e.g., 'access and functional needs' instead of 'special needs').

Scope change

No substantive change in scope or applicability; the bill still urges four Hawaiian counties to create and maintain electronic lists of hurricane refuges and shelters.

TECHNICAL

Document was reformatted from a deleted House Resolution template to a new House Document (HD1) version with updated metadata fields and formatting.

REQUIREMENT

One requirement was slightly clarified by changing 'special needs accommodation' to 'access and functional needs accommodation' in the list of shelter criteria.

A new requirement was added mandating that electronic lists include disclaimers that refuges and shelters may not necessarily be open during emergencies.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the House by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 3, 2025

Lower · Passed

Resolution adopted in final form.

lower

Apr 3, 2025

Lower · Passed

Adopted as amended in HD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Woodson excused (2).

lower

Apr 3, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported from PBS (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1887) as amended in HD 1, recommending adoption.

lower

Mar 28, 2025

Lower · Passed

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.

lower

Mar 14, 2025

Committee

Referred to PBS, referral sheet 22

lower

Mar 7, 2025

Introduced

Offered

lower

5 primary · 0 co-sponsors