Gov. Josh Green has signed into law 16 bills addressing wildfire preparedness and emergency management.
One of the major measures would create the Office of the State Fire Marshal. A fire marshal will be appointed for a five-year term and is meant to help with coordination and planning for fire safety measures.
It’ll take time to find the right person for the job, but the goal is to have them in place by next fire season.
Green explained that the new position will make responding to the threat of wildfires easier than the current process through the State Fire Council.
"It's very difficult for that group of people to come to the Legislature and say, 'We need A, B, C and D'. By having a fire marshal at the tip of that spear, you have that available list of exactly what you want," Green said.
"Also, you can hold a person accountable for a department. It's very difficult to hold a committee to that same responsibility. So those are some of the things. But the other states all have fire marshals and they have it for a reason."
Other measures included the creation of a language access coordinator position within the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency to help communicate with non-English speaking communities.
Another would crack down on charitable fraud during a state of emergency, an offense that now carries up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $25,000.
Green has until Wednesday to veto any measures that passed this legislative session.
