HI SB17

Establishes a Wildfire Mitigation Working Group within the Department of Law Enforcement, administered by the Office of the State Fire Marshal, with co-chairs being the state fire marshal and director of the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development.

Working group comprises 23+ members including government officials, university economists, fire experts from each county, a Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner, ranching industry representative, large landowners, and public representatives.

Directs the working group to develop state tax incentives and penalties for fire risk reduction, plan evacuation route retrofits for unsafe subdivisions, increase workforce development in land management, improve ignition-resistant building strategies, and create competitive grant funding for fuels management on private lands.

Requires a complete report with findings, recommendations, and proposed legislation to be submitted to the legislature no later than 30 days before the 2028 regular session.

Appropriates unspecified general fund amounts for fiscal year 2026-2027 and amends Act 302 (Session Laws 2025) to replace 2 fire inspector and 3 fire investigator positions with 4 assistant fire marshal positions at the Office of the State Fire Marshal.