Haw. Rev. Stat. § 137-2
This is the official text of Haw. Rev. Stat. § 137-2, part of Hawaii’s Rev. Stat — part of the compiled statutory law of Hawaii, published by the state as "Rev. Stat." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Reimbursement.
Official statutory text
(a) Whenever any government entity engages in a search or rescue operation for the purpose of searching for or rescuing a person, and incurs search and rescue expenses therein, the government entity may seek reimbursement from the following:
(1) The person on whose behalf search or rescue operations were conducted, including the person's estate, guardians, custodians, or other entity responsible for the person's safety;
(2) A person who ultimately benefited from a search or rescue operation by being rescued; or
(3) Any entity responsible for placing the person in the position of danger for which the search or rescue operation was initiated.
(b) Reimbursement under subsection (a) shall be allowed only if the need for search or rescue was caused by any act or omission by the person searched for or rescued, constituting intentional disregard for the person's safety, including, but not limited to, intentionally disregarding a warning or notice. [L 1999, c 66, pt of §2]
(1) The person on whose behalf search or rescue operations were conducted, including the person's estate, guardians, custodians, or other entity responsible for the person's safety;
(2) A person who ultimately benefited from a search or rescue operation by being rescued; or
(3) Any entity responsible for placing the person in the position of danger for which the search or rescue operation was initiated.
(b) Reimbursement under subsection (a) shall be allowed only if the need for search or rescue was caused by any act or omission by the person searched for or rescued, constituting intentional disregard for the person's safety, including, but not limited to, intentionally disregarding a warning or notice. [L 1999, c 66, pt of §2]
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Hawaii?
Find a Hawaii lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.