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HCR 64

House concurrent resolution congratulating Caitlin MacLeod-Bluver of Winooski High School on her selection as the 2025 Vermont Teacher of the Year and Jeremy DeMink of Edmunds Middle School in Burlington and Sonya Shedd of Wolcott Elementary School on their recognition as Distinguished Finalists

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Sarita Austin and 47 co-sponsors

Requests OPSD convene a working group to study creating a permanent Office of Resilience and Recovery and its placement/relationship to HI-EMA, with a report due by Nov 30, 2025.

Ceremonial Reading
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HCR 64

Summary — HCR 64 (2025) — Office of Resilience and Recovery working group

Status: Concurrent resolution — introduced Feb 5, 2025; adopted by the Legislature and transmitted to the Governor; signed by the Governor on May 13, 2025. This is a non‑binding concurrent resolution requesting agency action.
Related: SCR 23 (companion), HR 58 (companion). Primary sponsors listed in the record: Rep. Ichiyama and Rep. Michael Echols.

Purpose

HCR 64 responds to lessons from the 2023 Maui wildfires and the Hawaiʻi Climate Advisory Team’s January 2025 recommendation to create a permanent Hawaii Resilience Office. The resolution requests the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development (OPSD) to convene a working group to evaluate establishing a permanent Office of Resilience and Recovery and to recommend its permanent administrative placement and relationship to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HI‑EMA).

Key provisions

  • Requests OPSD to convene and chair a working group to evaluate the establishment and administrative placement of an Office of Resilience and Recovery.
  • Asks the working group to:
    • Determine which principal department should house the Office of Resilience and Recovery; and
    • Clarify how that office should relate to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.
  • Requires the working group to submit a report with findings and recommendations, including a recommendation for permanent administrative placement, to the Legislature by November 30, 2025.
  • Directs certified copies of the resolution be transmitted to specified state and local officials and the American Red Cross Pacific Islands Region.

Working group composition (high‑level)

The resolution (as adopted in HD1) requests the working group include:
- OPSD Director (or designee) — requested to chair;
- State Recovery Coordinator (Governor’s office), Attorney General;
- Chair, Board of Land and Natural Resources; Adjutant General; State Fire Marshal; HI‑EMA Administrator; Chair, State Fire Council;
- Two members each from the Senate and House (appointed by legislative leadership);
- Mayors (or designees) of the City & County of Honolulu, County of Maui, County of Hawaiʻi, and County of Kauai;
- A representative from the American Red Cross of Hawaiʻi.

(Note: earlier draft listed county emergency management administrators and single legislative members; HD1 broadened membership to include mayors and two legislators per chamber.)

Who is affected / potential impact

  • State executive agencies (OPSD, HI‑EMA, Attorney General, DLNR, etc.) and county governments will be asked to participate in the working group and to implement any subsequent statutory or administrative changes recommended by the group.
  • The resolution itself creates no new agency or funding; it is a request for study and recommendation. Any establishment of a permanent Office of Resilience and Recovery, staffing, or funding would require follow‑up legislation or administrative action.
  • The working group’s report could shape future legislation, agency organization, disaster preparedness, coordination, and recovery policy across state and county levels.

Timeline and deliverables

  • Working group convened by OPSD (date not specified in the resolution).
  • Report of findings and recommendations due to the Legislature by November 30, 2025.

Procedural notes

  • Because this is a concurrent resolution, it expresses the Legislature’s request and preference but does not itself create a statutory office, appropriate funds, or change administrative structure. Subsequent legislative or executive actions would be required to establish a permanent Office of Resilience and Recovery or to reassign administrative responsibility.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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