Bill > HB2449

This bill aims to place limits on the emergency powers of the governor and mayors by establishing an Emergency Powers Oversight Committee, comprised of members appointed by the legislative leadership, to review emergency proclamations and solicit public testimony. It also mandates that states of emergency, or local states of emergency, automatically terminate after 30 days, rather than 60, and limits their total duration to 60 days unless extended by a concurrent resolution of the Legislature. Furthermore, any proclamation suspending a statute must be narrowly tailored, specifying the suspended law, the factual basis for the emergency, and why the law's continued enforcement would hinder the response, and importantly, no emergency proclamation can suspend fundamental rights like due process, access to courts, judicial timelines, the right to petition the government, property rights requiring a warrant or compensation, Native Hawaiian rights, or environmental protection laws.

Military Affairs and Security

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=2449&year=2026