Bill Text: HI HB2318 | 2020 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relating To Hurricane Preparedness.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-02-12 - Report adopted. referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Cachola, Okimoto voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) McDermott excused (1). [HB2318 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2020-HB2318-Amended.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
2318 |
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THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020 |
H.D. 2 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION
1. The legislature finds that Hawaii is
susceptible to property loss due to hurricanes, tropical storms, and strong
winds. The best long-term solution to
reducing potential damage is the statewide use of wind resistive devices. The
legislature also finds that residents in this State must inspect, repair, and
reinforce their residences every year to prepare for the possibility of a
hurricane making landfall. The
inspection, repair, and reinforcement of their residences consume needed resources
from homeowners' budgets but result in homeowners having more
hurricane-resistant residences. This, in
turn, contributes to reduced hurricane damage repair costs and may qualify
homeowners for much-needed hurricane insurance premium credits.
The
legislature further finds that establishing the program will also serve a
public purpose by protecting the health, safety, and welfare of Hawaii
residents. The installation of wind
resistive devices helps reduce the incidence and severity of personal injury
and property damage in the event of a hurricane, which will in turn preserve
human life and property values and minimize disruptions to the State's economy,
business activity, and delivery of public services. The program will also serve the public
purpose of stimulating economic growth and activity in the State by creating
business and employment opportunities from the sale and installation of wind
resistive devices.
The
legislature further finds that the hurricane reserve trust fund, established by
Act 339, Session Laws of Hawaii 1993, was part of a "new, creative, and
flexible" mechanism to provide hurricane insurance to Hawaii residents in
the aftermath of Hurricane Iniki. After
its inception, the fund helped stabilize Hawaii's weak hurricane insurance
market, yielded the hurricane insurance market to the private sector, and
entered a state of dormancy ready to be reactivated when needed.
The
legislature also finds that the fund's assets currently generate approximately
$3,000,000 annually in interest, which is deposited into the general fund for unrestricted
use.
The
purpose of this Act is to increase hurricane preparedness in Hawaii by allocating
a portion of the moneys earned through interest from the hurricane reserve
trust fund's assets to provide grants under a safe home program, which will assist
financially qualified homeowners with the installation of approved wind
resistive devices for hurricane preparedness of their homes.
SECTION
2. Chapter 431P, Hawaii Revised
Statutes, is amended by adding a new part to be appropriately designated and to
read as follows:
§431P-A Definitions.
As used in this part:
"Mitigation"
means actions undertaken to reduce losses that may result from a hazard.
"Wind
resistive devices" means devices and techniques, as identified and
determined in accordance with section 431P-F(b), that increase a building's or
structure's resistance to damage from wind forces.
§431P-B Safe home program; establishment; limited
liability. (a) The commissioner shall develop and implement a
safe home program and encourage the installation of wind resistive
devices. The program may award matching
or nonmatching grants to eligible applicants based upon the availability of
funds.
(b) This part does not create an entitlement for
property owners or obligate the State in any way to fund the inspection or
retrofitting of residential property in the State.
§431P-C Safe home program trust fund. (a) There is established the safe home program
trust fund. Moneys transferred to the
safe home program trust fund may be expended by the commissioner to carry out
the commissioner's duties and obligations under this part.
(b) The safe home program trust fund may be used
by the commissioner to make grants authorized under this part. Matching and nonmatching grants awarded under
section 431P-E from the safe home program trust fund shall not be subject to
chapter 42F, 91, 103D, or 103F.
(c) The safe home program trust fund may also be
used by the commissioner to pay for any administrative, personnel, operational,
and marketing costs associated with the safe home program.
(d) Upon termination of the safe home program,
any balances in the safe home program trust fund will be reverted to the
general fund.
§431P-D Eligibility for safe home program. (a) To be eligible for the safe home program, a
residential property must be:
(1) The applicant's primary legal residence;
(2) Owned and occupied by the applicant;
(3) A single-family, owner-occupied residential
property; and
(4) A residential property covered by a current
homeowners or dwelling insurance policy that:
(A) Is issued by an insurer licensed in the State
or a surplus lines insurer, where the policy is lawfully placed by a broker
authorized to do business in the State; and
(B) Provides insurance coverage of the residential
property equal to or greater than the fair market value of the residential
property.
§431P-E Matching and nonmatching grants. (a) The commissioner may award matching or
nonmatching grants based upon the availability of funds.
(b) To be eligible for a nonmatching grant award,
the applicant must have an annual adjusted gross household income that does not
exceed eighty per cent of the median annual adjusted gross income for
households within the county in which the person or family resides, as
determined by the applicant's most recent federal income tax return. The nonmatching grant award shall not exceed
$6,500.
(c) An applicant with an annual adjusted gross
household income that exceeds eighty per cent of the median annual adjusted
gross income for households within the county in which the person or family
resides, as determined by the applicant's most recent federal income tax
return, may be eligible for a matching grant award. The matching grant award shall not exceed $5,200
and must be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis by the applicant.
(d) The commissioner shall issue an annual
bulletin that sets forth the maximum grant award amounts based on the total
annual adjusted gross household income of the applicant and adjusted for family
size relative to the county area median income or the state median family
income, whichever is higher, as published annually by the United States
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(e) Any grant issued by the program shall not exceed
a total of $5,200 for matching grants, and a total of $6,500 for nonmatching
grants. Any cost of the mitigation
project that exceeds the amount of the grant award shall be the responsibility
of the applicant.
§431P-F Standards for the award of grants. (a) Subject to the availability of funds and the
standards in this part, grants for wind resistive devices shall be awarded by
the commissioner:
(1) On a first-come, first-served basis, as
determined by the commissioner; and
(2) For a wind resistive device or devices
installed only in a single-family residential dwelling.
(b) Grants shall be awarded for the installation
of the following:
(1) Roof deck attachment;
(2) Secondary water barrier;
(3) Roof covering;
(4) Brace gable ends;
(5) Reinforced roof-to-wall connections;
(6) Opening protection;
(7) Exterior doors, including garage doors;
(8) Tie downs;
(9) Improvements that mitigate problems associated
with weakened trusses, studs, and other structural components; and
(10) Any other wind resistive devices approved by
the commissioner.
The commissioner, in the
commissioner's sole discretion, may amend, narrow, or expand by rules adopted
pursuant to chapter 91, the definitions, descriptions, specifications, and
requirements of the wind resistive devices.
(c) A grant may be made to an applicant only if
the applicant has:
(1) Undergone an acceptable wind certification and
hurricane mitigation inspection in accordance with the safe home program
requirements;
(2) Filed a completed application form, as
determined solely by the commissioner, together with all supporting
documentation required by the commissioner;
(3) Installed the wind resistive device or devices
in accordance with the safe home program requirements;
(4) Provided any other information deemed
necessary by the commissioner; and
(5) Met all additional requirements needed to
comply with the grant program as determined by the commissioner.
§431P-G Annual report. The commissioner
shall prepare an annual report to the governor, legislature, and director on
the use of the safe home program trust fund.
The report shall provide statistical information on program
participation. The report shall be
submitted to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening
of each regular session, beginning with the regular session of 2021.
§431P-H Rules.
The commissioner may adopt reasonable rules,
in accordance with chapter 91, as are necessary or proper to carry out the
purposes of this part."
SECTION
3. Section 431P-16, Hawaii Revised
Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (i) to read as follows:
"(i) Moneys in the hurricane reserve trust fund
may be disbursed upon dissolution of the Hawaii hurricane relief fund; provided
that:
(1) The net moneys in the hurricane reserve trust
fund shall revert to the state general fund after payments by the fund on
behalf of licensed property and casualty insurers or the State that are
required to be made pursuant to any federal disaster insurance program enacted
to provide insurance or reinsurance for hurricane risks are completed; and
(2) If such moneys are paid on behalf of licensed
property and casualty insurers, payment shall be made in proportion to the
premiums from policies of hurricane property insurance serviced by the insurers
in the twelve months prior to dissolution of the fund;
provided that [all] of the
interest earned from the principal in the hurricane reserve trust fund,
$1,000,000 shall be transferred and deposited [into the general fund
each year that the hurricane reserve trust fund remains in existence.] into
the safe home program trust fund established pursuant to section 431P-C for
fiscal year 2020-2021 and the remaining interest shall be transferred and
deposited into the general fund each year that the hurricane reserve trust fund
remains in existence."
SECTION
4. Section 431P-16.5,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§431P-16.5 Immunity.
There shall be no cause of action, claim for
damages or relief, charge, or any other liability [of any kind whatsoever]
created against the State, the Hawaii hurricane relief fund, the commissioner,
or their respective agents, employees, or board, by[,] or relating to
the loss mitigation grant program[.] and the safe home program."
SECTION 5. Article 22, chapter 431, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.
SECTION
6. The commissioner is authorized to
establish and fill one temporary position, not subject to chapter 76, Hawaii
Revised Statutes, to be employed within the insurance division of the department
of commerce and consumer affairs for implementation and administration of the
safe home program. The hiring of the
position shall be appropriated out of the safe home program trust fund.
SECTION
7. There shall be no cause of action,
claim for damages or relief, charge, or any other liability of any kind created
against the State, the Hawaii hurricane relief fund, the Hawaii hurricane
relief fund's board and its members, or their respective agents, or employees,
by or relating to the transfer of any moneys from the hurricane reserve trust
fund to the general fund or the safe home program trust fund.
SECTION
8. There is appropriated out of the safe
home program trust fund the sum of $1,000,000 or so much thereof as may be
necessary for fiscal year 2020-2021 to develop and implement the grant program
established under this Act.
The
sum appropriated shall be expended by the insurance commissioner for the
purposes of this Act.
SECTION
9. In codifying the new sections added
to chapter 431P, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by section 2 of this Act, the revisor
of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used
in designating and referring to the new sections in this Act.
SECTION
10. Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken. New statutory
material is underscored.
SECTION 11. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.
Report Title:
DCCA; Insurance; Safe Home Program; Safe Home Program Trust Fund; Grant; Hurricane; Wind Mitigation; Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund; General Fund; Appropriation
Description:
Establishes the safe home program to provide matching and nonmatching grants for installation of wind resistive devices to single-family, owner-occupied, residential property owners. Creates one temporary position within the insurance division of the department of commerce and consumer affairs to implement and administer the safe home program. Repeals the loss mitigation grant program. Appropriates funds. Effective 7/1/2025. (HD2)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
