Major General Steve Logan, adjutant general for the Hawaii Department of Defense, told the House Committee on Finance the department is seeking $40,500,000 in state funding for fiscal year 2026 to secure approximately $74,000,000 in matching federal funds and manage 411 open projects that could draw an additional $2.3 billion in federal grant opportunities. "The department request for this year is $40,500,000 in state funding," Logan said during an informational briefing.

The request centers on sustainment, safety and organizational changes prompted by lessons from the Maui wildfires. Logan identified a recurring $1,300,000 request to sustain department IT (software, hardware and cloud services) that previously was covered by vacancy savings. He also said the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency has requested $2,700,000 to fund 32 core emergency-management positions statewide to sustain planning, response and mitigation and to help administer FEMA-funded projects in the counties.

Logan described personnel gaps across the department: of roughly 405 authorized positions he said 142 were vacant and that many vacancies (95 positions) are federally funded. He called several vacancy categories to the committee’s attention — positions being established, roles pending classification, unfunded positions awaiting state matching funds and hourly hires used to fill lapses.

On youth programming, Logan and Brig. Gen. (ret.) Bruce Olivera outlined funding shortfalls in the National Guard Youth Challenge Program. The Guard said the program’s federal appropriation does not cover federally required payroll fringe, leaving roughly 44 positions treated as hourly or temporary; the program requested $1,900,000 in state funds to pay the federal portion of state-mandated fringe so it can hire and supervise staff at required cadet-to-staff ratios.

The department also reviewed planned capital-improvement projects that the governor’s budget approved in part. Logan listed upgrades for youth challenge campuses, a modernization and repair plan for outdoor sirens, an ADA elevator for the Diamond Head facility, building retrofits to improve resilience, and an initiative to pursue federal and state funding to build a third state veterans home on Maui. John Alomodin, director of the Office of Veteran Services, told the committee there are two key pre-application suspense dates for the VA process — Aug. 1, 2025 and Aug. 1, 2026 — and that meeting the 2025 deadline requires a certified $35,000,000 state match and a land-use commitment. "The key piece with regarding to meeting what's required for the August 1, 2025 suspense date is the certified $35,000,000 match," Alomodin said.

Members pressed for details on the siren program timeline and island distribution. Administrator Barros of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency said modernization will be performed in bundled phases and that about 31 sirens are planned for modernization this year, with an initial island allocation of 15 on Maui, 8 on Oahu and 8 on the Big Island. He said procurement work is routed through the state Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS).

Representative Massaro asked whether the state owns C-17 transport aircraft used to move six burn victims; Logan explained the Air National Guard operates a mix of wholly-owned airframes and associate missions with active-duty wings and said the C-17 mission that moved the patients was crewed mostly by active-duty personnel with two Hawaii Air National Guard members. He also noted the state lacks organic en-route medical capability on some platforms and that an after-action review by U.S. INDOPACOM will assess costs. Logan said published Department of Defense rates show an indicative flight-hour cost around $20,000, but the department did not have a final bill to report to the committee.

On a proposed transfer of the state fire marshal to DOD, Logan said the legislative proposal to migrate the fire marshal and the Hawaii Fire Council to the Department of Defense has not been finalized. Administrative staff told the committee the governor’s add-on request for seven positions to support the fire marshal concept is budgeted at roughly $3,300,000, with about $1,000,000 for salaries and $2,100,000 for operating costs, though cost-center details remain pending.

Logan closed by thanking the committee and making Department staff available for follow-up questions; the Committee recessed after the exchange. The department committed to provide requested cost breakdowns and further documentation to the committee when the INDOPACOM after-action and internal analyses are completed.