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Committee advances bill to limit liability for private vessels that fight harbor fires
Summary
The Senate Committee on Transportation advanced HB 1158 to restrict civil liability for individuals using firefighting-equipped private vessels at state commercial harbors, a measure DOT says will reduce barriers to private assistance; the joint committee vote adopted the recommendation to pass.
The Senate Committee on Transportation, sitting jointly with the Public Safety and Military Affairs Committee, voted to advance HB 1158 on March 12, a bill that would limit civil liability for people who render firefighting services with firefighting-equipped private vessels at state commercial harbors.
An agency official with the Department of Transportation, testifying in support, said the bill grew from discussions with the Honolulu Fire Department after the Lahaina fires and from the practical loss of a dedicated fireboat in Honolulu Harbor. "We no longer do it...so we did sell it," the official said, and added that privately owned vessels home‑ported at state ports often have firefighting monitors or water cannons. "This bill aims to reduce liability that may reduce their barriers to working with a firefighter to, to extinguish a fire at our ports," the official said.
The measure, introduced as House Draft 1, would limit civil damages arising from an individual's firefighting actions at commercial harbors to instances of gross negligence or wanton acts or omissions. Supporters said the change is administrative and designed to clarify liability so private vessel owners are not deterred from assisting in harbor firefighting operations.
Committee staff recorded written support from the Hugs group and from Melissa Pek, and no additional public testimony was offered during the hearing. In decision making the Transportation committee recorded the chair and vice chair voting aye and a second member recorded an aye; two senators were excused. The Public Safety and Military Affairs committee recorded a like recommendation and adopted it.
The committee's action advances the bill to the next legislative stage with the committee recommendation to pass; no amendments were adopted during the hearing. The committee did not set an immediate effective date; any statutory changes would follow the regular House-Senate concurrence and enactment process.
