HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	12
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

urging the governor and the director of the hawaii emergency management agency to dismiss any employee who fails to cooperate with an investigation of the january 13th false missile alert.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, the false missile alert on January 13th, 2018, exposed the dysfunctional management of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, as well as Hawaii's defective emergency plans and preparedness in the disastrous event of a nuclear attack targeted at our State; and

 

     WHEREAS, this incident has put the eyes of the world on Hawaii, drawing concern and attention from across the globe, including public scrutiny in the national press and shameful mockery in North Korea's state newspaper; and

 

     WHEREAS, the head of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and the Governor of the State of Hawaii apologized for the "unfortunate and regrettable" mistake and ensured the public that they would review the state's procedures to make sure this will never happen again; and

 

     WHEREAS, communities across Hawaii and the nation are intensely observing the aftermath and anxiously anticipating the findings of the two ongoing internal investigations and the investigation by the Federal Communications Commission to assess what went wrong; and

 

     WHEREAS, the alert error was allegedly made because a Hawaii Emergency Management Agency officer "pushed the wrong button"; and

 

     WHEREAS, the identity of the "button pusher" has not been publicly released, and the employee has since been reassigned to an unspecified job at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, but the employee has not returned to work since the accident; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Federal Communications Commission's Homeland Security Bureau chief recently expressed disappointment in the refusal of this Hawaii Emergency Management Agency employee to cooperate with their federal investigation; and

 

     WHEREAS, recent media reports indicate that this Hawaii Emergency Management Employee is also refusing to cooperate in state investigations into the circumstances surrounding the January 13th false missile alert; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency employee has not been disciplined for his or her grave mistake; and

 

     WHEREAS, although apologies have been made by key officials, responsible individuals should also be held accountable; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2018, that the House of Representatives calls on all individuals with information on the January 13th false missile alert to cooperate fully with all investigations of the incident; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor and the Director of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency are urged to dismiss any employee who fails to cooperate with an investigation of the January 13th false missile alert; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission; the Director, the Administrator, and the Executive Officer of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency; the Governor of the State of Hawaii; the Mayor of Honolulu; the Mayor of Maui; the Mayor of Kauai; and the Mayor of Hawaii.

 

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Hawaii Emergency Management Agency