Hawaii House: Short- And Long-Term Solutions 'Essential' To Survival Of West Maui

One month before the Hawaii Legislature convenes for its 2024 session, the House of Representatives on Friday released a lengthy list of recommendations on how best to respond to the deadly Maui wildfires.

The recommendations, which are not yet crafted as legislation, are likely to dominate the four-month session that begins Jan. 17. There are no specific dollar figures identified for expenses like staffing, either.

The deadly and destructive fires continue to slow the state’s economic growth, which will crimp Hawaii’s already reduced revenue stream and force leaders to make difficult funding choices.

The report also stresses that one legislative session alone will not fully rebuild Lahaina to its pre-fire state.

“In light of the many years it may take to restore Lahaina, short- and long-term solutions are essential to the economic and social vitality of West Maui and, by extension, the State,” according to the report’s introduction. “The work and resulting findings and recommendations of the working groups are but a small step toward a new, but never forgotten Lahaina.”

The recommendations come from six interim working groups established by the House not long after the fires struck Aug. 8.

Their focus was on the cleanup of ground and ocean contamination, the distribution of essential supplies, Maui unemployment and business activity, displaced school students and staff, temporary and transitional shelter, and the causes of wildfires and preventive action.

Most of the recommendations have previously been reported, but the highlights in the final report include the following:

Wildfire Prevention

• Increase the response capacity of state and county personnel to suppress wildfires.
• Maintain and update wildfire-specific equipment and wildfire-suppression infrastructure statewide.
• Create a public awareness campaign about preventing ignitions.
• Negotiate standing agreements to use privately owned water storage sources or other firefighting resources.
• Develop best practices regarding downed power lines and electrical power supplies during times of possible ignition.
• Increase criminal penalties for arson in the fourth degree during red flag warnings.
• Evaluate the use of “green” firebreaks created through strategic planting of water-rich, fire-resistant native species.
• Build upon existing research on the impacts of climate change on wildfire regimes, especially with extreme weather events such as hurricanes and drought.

Environmental Remediation

• The Department of Land and Natural Resources should be funded for regular ongoing chemical and physical coastal water quality testing and storm sampling.
• The DLNR needs aquatic biologist positions to support long-term water monitoring and pollution source detection.
• The Department of Health should be funded for air and water monitoring efforts, including expansion of monitoring stations in Kula and Lahaina.
• There should be further investigation into the feasibility of restoration of the wetland area in Lahaina.

Food, Water, Other Supplies

• The state should establish a comprehensive Distribution Management Plan that encompasses “all disasters and topics,” including language access and pet supplies.
• The state should enact a law to allow pharmacists to provide medication to patients without interruption during emergencies.
• The state should implement and facilitate programs and initiatives to provide personnel support for disaster response.
• The state should set aside funding to ensure that food banks have adequate storage capacity, labor and reserves for normal and emergency operations.

Jobs And Business

• The Unemployment Insurance Division of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations must be properly staffed and supported with a system to efficiently process and manage claims.
• The University of Hawaii Maui College should be provided with additional resources to expand the Career and Technical Education apprenticeship program for hiring adjunct faculty.
• The development of child care services in West Maui should be encouraged to allow workers to return to work.
• Lenders are encouraged to consider the circumstances of the wildfires to reach an amicable resolution when constructing mortgage relief and forbearance agreements.
• The development of a visitor mobile application should be examined, which could assist in promoting responsible, respectful, and compassionate tourism.

Schools

• The Department of Education and Department of Transportation should assess all DOE school campuses to determine if there are sufficient emergency evacuation routes statewide.
• The DOE should create a process to quickly hire or reposition DOE personnel to better accommodate distance learning and learning alternatives.
• The DOE should monitor traffic congestion in the immediate vicinity of the Lahaina schools area and mitigate increased ingress and egress to the West Maui Lahainaluna Road.
• The Department of Accounting and General Services, DOE, School Facilities Authority and counties should develop and enforce regulations and guidelines for fire-resistant landscaping around school buildings.

Shelter

• The Hawaii Housing and Finance Development Corporation should expedite Low-Income Housing Tax Credit projects already funded with a match from the Rental Housing Revolving Fund and a portion of the State’s private activity bond allocation.
• The population who experienced houselessness before the wildfires such as victims of domestic violence need a long-term solution since the only West Maui homeless resource center burned in the fire.
• The Legislature should identify supportive programs for the Compact of Free Association population, including a possible infusion of funds to the Temporary Assistance for Other Needy Families program for those with children.
• The Legislature should pass a comprehensive law that allows construction of either Ohana Zone or Kauhale sites to be streamlined without the need for an emergency proclamation.

The final report, 144 pages in length and subtitled “Laulima for Lahaina Renewing Hearts, Homes, and Community,” emphasizes a multi-pronged response to the fires. Laulima is Hawaiian for cooperation or joint action.

“Life in Lahaina will never be the same. Lives have been lost. Schools have been damaged or destroyed. Long-time businesses have been reduced to piles of ash and rubble. The air, water, and soil have been contaminated,” the report says. “All of these concerns and more will be the many challenges that the Lahaina community must face. However, it does not have to face it alone, as many hands make light work.”

House Speaker Scott Saiki is encouraging the public to review the full report and provide input to the Legislature. Because the chairs and co-chairs of House committees will likely introduce and hear the bills that encapsulate the recommendations, passage of many of the proposals seems likely.

Gov. Josh Green — who had not yet seen the final report — said Friday that he had received periodic updates from the members.

“By all indications, first of all, they’ve done extraordinary work, quickly, and got together a lot,” he said. “And we all seem to be on the same page. Significant relief is going to be necessary for Maui this session and actually move (Hawaii) toward resiliency.”

Green said he would “follow the House’s lead, as we tend to do when they bring in financial recommendations at the outset this session. I assume we’re going to have very good buy-in from the Senate.”

The Senate did not issue comment on the House report, although senators have previously said they would consider any legislation that comes their way, and that senators are doing their own due diligence in terms of bills and funding.