The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the House Committee on Pubic Safety on Feb. 6, 2026.
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Feb 6, 2026, 10:15 a.m.
Hawaii State Capitol
Conference Room 411 and Videoconference
To: House Committee on Public Safety
Rep. Della Au Belatti, Chair
Rep. Kim Coco Iwamoto, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF HB2581 — RELATING TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
Aloha chair, vice chair and other committee members,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii would like to offer its support for HB2581, which would clarify the definitions of “emergency” and “disaster” for the purposes of Hawaii’s emergency management statute.
Specifying what constitutes an “emergency” or “disaster” under chapter 127A would go a long way toward addressing the unchecked expansion of executive power via emergency proclamations.
As Grassroot discussed in its January 2021 policy brief “Lockdowns Versus Liberty: How Hawaii’s Experience in 2020-2021 Demonstrates the Need to Revise the State’s Emergency Powers,” Hawaii’s governor has extremely broad powers to define what constitutes an emergency.[1]
This has resulted in an ever-growing list of “emergencies” outside of the “immediate” and “catastrophic” threats described in this bill. Thus, important social issues such as homelessness or the lack of affordable housing seem to have been declared “emergencies” to take advantage of the broad powers granted to the executive branch under the emergency management statute. Moreover, the lack of clarity in the statute has resulted in a Hawaii Supreme Court opinion that largely upheld the use of executive power for this expansive definition of emergencies.[2]
This use of emergency power might be an effective way to streamline decision-making and cut through cumbersome regulations. However, it also upsets the state’s constitutional balance of powers, allows the governor to act as a “super legislator” by waiving or suspending statewide laws, deprives the Legislature of its constitutional prerogative in the crafting of state policy and frustrates efforts to enact permanent reforms.
Governing via executive order also denies the public a voice on important issues, forcing the people to rely on the courts for redress — which is a slow and expensive process that acts as an additional barrier to public input.
Even those who agree with the goals or actions of some of these questionable emergency orders have expressed concern about the methodology behind them.
This problem is compounded by the lack of any meaningful time limit on emergency orders. The executive’s ability to extend emergencies via supplemental proclamation means that an abuse of executive power could be extended indefinitely.
Creating a clear definition of the events that constitute an “emergency” or “disaster” under the law would limit the potential for executive overreach via emergency orders.
The list of emergency events in HB2581, combined with the bill’s emphasis on immediate danger and timely action, gives a clear indication of legislative intent and would bring the statute in line with the common understanding of an emergency.
The experiences of the past few years have given us a better understanding of the need to reform Hawaii’s emergency management statute. There is room to restore the constitutional balance of powers without handicapping the executive’s ability to respond quickly and effectively to emergency situations.
By providing guidance on what an emergency is, this bill would help reassert the Legislature’s role in the use of emergency powers.
Sincerely,
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
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[1] Malia Hill, “Lockdowns Versus Liberty: How Hawaii’s Experience in 2020-2021 Demonstrates the Need to Revise the State’s Emergency Powers,” Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, January 2021.
[2] Nakoa v. Governor of the State of Hawaii, 575 P.3d 506 (2025).
