Committee advances bill to let Legislature end emergency orders by simple majority

The House Committee on Public Safety moved March 27 to pass SB 2151 SD2 with amendments that change how the legislature can terminate a state of emergency.

Under the adopted recommendation, the bill would strike the Senate preamble, adopt definitions of "catastrophic harm" and "emergency" from a companion House bill, and change the legislative threshold to terminate a state of emergency from a two-thirds vote to a simple majority. Chair said the change is intended to provide legislative guardrails against excessively prolonged executive emergency powers and to prompt further discussion in Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

Representative Shimizu thanked the chair for acknowledging concerns and said the change was a "positive step." Representative Souza said she would vote no and cited constituent concerns. Committee members discussed adding language preserving constitutional rights; the chair encouraged work in the next committee or mentioning it in the committee report.

The recommendation was adopted and the measure will move on to the next committee for further consideration.