While the world changes, Civil Defense still stuck in Cold-War 1950s

The state Legislature recently missed an opportunity to bring Hawaii’s antiquated civil defense system into the 21st century. Senate Bill 2146, which proposed to establish a multi-agency task force to recommend needed changes to Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapters 127 and 128, was deferred on Valentine’s Day by the Senate Committee on Public Safety, Government Operations, and Military Affairs, chaired by Sen. Will Espero.

Deferment of that bill was disappointing because the framework of our civil defense system, embodied in Chapters 127 and 128, is based on the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950. These chapters, including HRS Chapter 26 Section 21 that places State Civil Defense under the Department of Defense and Adjutant General, were designed to defend the Territory against nuclear attack. We are the only state to maintain a civil defense system based on a federal law that was amended, supplemented and finally repealed in 1994.

After the Cold War ended, the focus moved from defense against total nuclear war to defense against a terrorist attacks using chemical or biological weapons. At the national level, the U.S. Civil Defense Agency was eventually replaced by FEMA. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the concept of civil defense and all-hazards emergency management came under the umbrella of Homeland Security.

During the years I served in state Civil Defense, we were advised by our state attorneys that these statutes should be maintained in their 1950 framework because these laws provide our governor with extraordinary powers during emergencies. We were cautioned that proposing a major overhaul of these statutes could possibly open a door to unwanted changes. Admittedly, in spite of their vintage, we took full advantage of these statutes during emergencies and disasters to protect lives and property and to hasten recovery.

Like good soldiers, we kept a silent vigil over our civil defense statutes. As the years wore on, there were many significant changes in federal laws and programs involving civil preparedness and emergency management, which necessitated a review of our statutes. While the other 49 states, including territories, modernized their laws after the Cold War, we opted to maintain the status quo.

A revision of Chapters 127 and 128 is long overdue. The first nine of 11 sections of Chapter 127 dealing with disaster relief are indefinitely suspended. Chapter 128 has 32 sections one of which gives the director of Civil Defense (Adjutant General, a Hawaii National Guardsman) the power to remove county deputy directors of civil defense, namely the county mayors. In the "duck and cover" years of the Cold War, there may have been need for a command relationship with local government requiring strict adherence to plans in order to save lives. It’s ludicrous to think the removal of a county mayor by a Hawaii National Guardsman could ever have happened then or now.

Among the reasonable bills being mired: Senate Bill 2188 and House Bill 2797, which would have placed state Civil Defense directly under the governor, where in my view, it should be; and, House Bills 2237 and 2796, which would establish a task force to review Chapters 127 and 128.

It’s time to admit to our citizens that the civil defense system which they must depend on for their safety is still stuck in the ’50s. We owe our good people the opportunity to review these statutes before the next major disaster exposes weaknesses we could have prevented.