Bill
HCR 69
Create a Vegetation Management Working Group to study and recommend rules on vegetation near electric lines, set safety standards, and report by 2026, then dissolve.
Note on document mismatch
- The header you provided (Bill Number HCR 69; Title about merging Louisiana motor vehicle commissions) does not match the bill text you included. The text supplied is Hawaii HCR 69 (2025) that creates a Vegetation Management Working Group in response to the 2023 Maui wildfires. Below is a summary of the actual bill text you provided. If you want a summary of the Louisiana motor‑vehicle task‑force bill instead, please provide that text or confirm.
Summary — HCR 69 (Hawaii, 2025): Vegetation Management Working Group
Purpose and intent
- Responding to the August 8, 2023 Maui wildfires, this concurrent resolution directs the Office of the State Fire Marshal to convene a Vegetation Management Working Group to study, evaluate, and recommend regulations and policies to mitigate wildfire risk associated with vegetation near utility lines and to establish minimum safety standards, training, and qualifications for line‑clearance tree trimming near electric utility facilities.
Key provisions and required tasks
- Convene a Vegetation Management Working Group chaired by the State Fire Marshal (or designee).
- Study and recommend regulations that:
- Define property‑owner obligations for vegetation management on public and private lands to mitigate wildfire risk.
- Establish minimum safety standards, training, and qualifications for individuals performing line‑clearance trimming at/near electric utility facilities.
- In its review, the Working Group is to consider:
- Hawaiian Electric Company filings (Docket Nos. 2022‑0135 and 2025‑0156) related to transmission, distribution, resilience, and wildfire safety.
- Hazard mitigation plans filed by electric utilities (e.g., Kauai Island Utility Cooperative) submitted to the Public Utilities Commission.
- Prepare and submit a report of findings and recommendations (including proposed legislation, if any) to the Legislature no later than 20 days before the 2026 Regular Session.
- The Working Group is requested to dissolve on June 30, 2026.
Membership and participation
- Required members include: State Fire Marshal (chair), Director of Transportation (or designee), PUC Chair (or designee), Board of Land & Natural Resources Chair (or designee, in some versions), Superintendent of Education (or designee), representative of DCCA’s Division of Consumer Advocacy (appointed by DCCA), Hawaii Invasive Species Council representative, one House member (appointed by Speaker), one Senate member (appointed by Senate President), and county mayors (or designees).
- Invited participants include representatives of: cooperative and investor‑owned electric utilities, a telecommunications carrier or communications service provider, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (Local 1260), and a landowner owning >1,000 acres.
- Administrative support: variants of the text name either the Department the Office of the State Fire Marshal is administratively attached to or the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to provide administrative assistance and draft the report.
Who would be affected
- Property owners (public and private) with vegetation adjoining utility right‑of‑ways.
- Electric utilities (investor‑owned and cooperative) and communications carriers.
- Line‑clearance/trimming workers and their unions.
- County governments and large landowners.
- State agencies involved in wildfire prevention, transportation, utilities regulation, invasive species, and education.
Procedural and timeline notes (status)
- Filed: Feb 11, 2025. Referred to multiple committees, amended in committee and by the Senate (SD1). Passed both chambers (House and Senate) and enrolled/signed by legislative leaders. Presented to the Secretary of State by the Clerk of the House on June 13, 2025. The Working Group’s report is due 20 days before the 2026 Regular Session and the group dissolves June 30, 2026.
Potential impact
- Could lead to state regulatory or statutory standards clarifying property‑owner duties for vegetation control, safer work/training standards for tree‑trimming near power lines, and coordinated utility vegetation management policies aimed at reducing wildfire ignitions and improving worker safety.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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