STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1199-12
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2012
RE: S.B. No. 2877
S.D. 1
H.D. 1
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-Sixth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2012
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committees on Transportation and Public Safety & Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 2877, S.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HARBORS FIREBOAT,"
beg leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to improve the efficiency of the State Department of Transportation's Harbors Division by repealing the statutory requirement that the Department of Transportation reimburse the City and County of Honolulu for the operation and maintenance of the State fire boat to allow for more economical management and more comprehensive marine incident response and operational capabilities.
In 1951, harbor fire boat operations and maintenance were turned over to the City and County of Honolulu with the Department of Transportation paying for the operational and maintenance costs of the fire boat with moneys from the Harbor Special Fund. While the fire boat is an important component in responding to a landside fire in the harbor vicinity as well as participating in any marine incident response, the United States Coast Guard recently updated its marine firefighting and salvage regulations with which commercial vessel owners and operators must comply. As marine firefighting requires different training and techniques than landside structure firefighting, the Department of Transportation needs the flexibility to establish a more comprehensive response program and achieve cost savings through economies of scale and expertise of the marine response community.
Your Committees note that this measure does not cease operations of the fire boat but merely allows the Harbors Division to pursue fire boat management alternatives ranging from contracting out for management services to entering into an agreement with an existing marine casualty response organization.
However, your Committees have some concerns regarding the planning and implementation of any new fire suppression standards and operations for the harbor area and urge the Department of Transportation and Honolulu Fire Department to involve more of the interested stakeholders in the planning and implementation process and discussions. Your Committees also have concerns as to whether this measure provides sufficient time for these discussions to take place. Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by changing its effective date to January 1, 2013.
As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Transportation and Public Safety & Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2877, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2877, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Transportation and Public Safety & Military Affairs,
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____________________________ HENRY J.C. AQUINO, Chair |
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____________________________ JOSEPH M. SOUKI, Chair |