1. (a) Except as otherwise expressly provided, all of the powers conferred by this chapter are conferred on the governor or mayor, as applicable. The governor or mayor may delegate any of these powers to governmental, private-sector, and nonprofit agencies and organizations, officials, officers, employees, and other individuals created, appointed, or employed under, or engaged in carrying out this chapter; provided that the following powers shall be retained by the governor or mayor, as applicable:

   1. (1) Proclaiming a state of emergency or local state of emergency, proclaiming a state of emergency or local state of emergency terminated, or making any other proclamation provided for by this chapter;
   2. (2) Prescribing rules having the force and effect of law; and

   3. (3) Making allotments of funds appropriated or available for the purposes of this chapter.

      Unless otherwise directed by the governor or mayor, all of the powers pertaining to emergency management authorized to be delegated by the governor or mayor shall be deemed to have been delegated by the governor to the director of Hawaii emergency management and by the mayor to the administrator or director of the county emergency management agency, as applicable, and the administrator or director of the county emergency management agency, respectively, shall have the authority to further delegate any of these powers to any agency or person to whom the governor or mayor could have directly delegated such powers.

2. (b) The powers conferred upon the governor or mayor by this chapter are in addition to any other powers or authority conferred upon the governor or mayor by the laws of the United States and of the State or county for the same or a like purpose, and shall not be construed as abrogating, limiting, or modifying any such powers or authority.

[L 2014, c 111, pt of §2]

Law Journals and Reviews

Hoist the Yellow Flag and Spam^® Up: The Separation of Powers Limitation on Hawai`i's Emergency Authority. 43 UH L. Rev. 71 (2020).