COMMENT ON SB1100 SD2 HD1: Save the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council

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March 20 update

SB1100 SD2 HD1 was passed with amendments to replace the measure’s language with that of HB427 HD2, which protects the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Committee from being moved to the Department of Agriculture, along with other amendments.

Mahalo nui to the more than 23 individuals and organizations who submitted testimony in support, and special thanks to Chair Matayoshi and Vice Chair Chun for amending and passing this measure.⁠

March 17 update

Despite the intent of the House Draft 1 amendments, SB1100 SD2 HD1 would still inadvertently place the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council (HISC) under the Department of Agriculture, which could be devastating for our biosecurity efforts. Please help us to fix this apparent oversight by asking for the removal of language putting the newly renamed Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity in charge of HRS Chapter 194, the HISC enabling statutes. SB1100 SD2 HD1 will be heard on Tuesday, March 18 at 2:05pm by the House Consumer Protection & Commerce Committee. Sample testimony and instructions below.

Sample testimony

Aloha Chair Matayoshi, Vice Chair Chun, and Members of the Committee,

I would like to offer COMMENTS on SB1100 SD2 HD1, requesting an amendment to prevent the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council (HISC) from being placed under the authority of the newly renamed Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity.

I am grateful for the amendments made in the House Draft of this measure, intended to ensure that HISC is not placed under the authority and oversight of the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture (to be renamed the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity). However, Section 19 of this House Draft would still give the Department oversight over HISC's authorizing HRS Chapter 194 - placing our critically vital HISC and its invasive species committees at risk of being neglected, sidelined, or even defunded.

In light of the Department of Agriculture's limited mission and demonstrated inability to support its own biosecurity programs, much less the robust strategies employed by HISC, I urge the committee to delete the reference to Chapter 194 in Section 19 of this bill.

I also ask that the Committee further ensure that any Deputy of Biosecurity be made subject to regular reporting requirements to the Board of Agriculture and the Legislature, to ensure that their performance adequately furthers the vision of this bill.

Mahalo nui for your consideration of these comments.

[Your name]

Testimony instructions

  1. Register for a capitol website account if you haven’t yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)

  2. Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the "Submit Testimony" button.

  3. Enter "SB1100" where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."

  4. Input your information and your written testimony, select your testimony option(s)—in-person + written, remotely + written, written only. Please consider providing verbal testimony (in-person or remotely) if you are able! 

    1. Note: Virtual testimony option may be disabled 24 hours before the hearing.

    If you are testifying via Zoom, be sure to review these instructions (page 4)

March 10 update

The Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council (HISC) and the future of Hawaiʻi’s biosecurity still need your help! Please testify on SB1100 SD2 and ask for the removal of provisions placing HISC and other critical biosecurity entities under the Department of Agriculture.  

HISC plays a crucial role in protecting our islands from invasive species by coordinating cross-agency efforts, funding essential projects, and supporting island invasive species committees. SB1100 SD2, while aiming to strengthen the Department of Agriculture’s biosecurity role, proposes moving HISC and its island invasive species committees under a newly created deputy of biosecurity within the department. However, the Department of Agriculture has struggled to fulfill its existing regulatory responsibilities, even with increased funding, and this transfer could severely disrupt some of the most effective invasive species programs we have - setting Hawaiʻi back in its fight against invasive pests.

While SB1100 SD2 includes positive steps, such as emphasizing biosecurity, its restructuring of HISC under Department of Agriculture leadership could severely undermine existing efforts. A hearing for SB1100 SD2 is scheduled for Wednesday, March 12, 9am, room 325 (watch online here) in the House Agriculture & Food Systems Committee. Please take a moment to submit comments on this bill to ensure that HISC and its committees remain effective. Sample testimony and instructions below.

Sample testimony

Aloha Chair Kahaloa, Vice Chair Kusch, and members of the Agriculture & Food Systems Committee,

My name is [Your name] and I am writing today to offer the following COMMENTS AND CONCERNS on SB1100. I appreciate and support the provisions to emphasize the need for the Department of Agriculture - to be renamed the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity - to embrace the particular and unique role in our overall biosecurity strategy. However, I STRONGLY OPPOSE placing the Department of Agriculture and the new deputy of biosecurity in charge of the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council and other biosecurity programs outside the Department of Agriculture’s current purview.

While I recognize and appreciate this measure’s effort to get the Department of Agriculture to embrace its long-neglected role in biosecurity, I have serious concerns about placing the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council (HISC) and other external programs and projects under the rebranded Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), as well as the lack of accountability mechanisms for the proposed deputy of biosecurity.

HISC and its county-based invasive species committees (ISCs) play a critical role in stopping invasive pests before they cause lasting damage to our environment, food systems, and communities. HISC coordinates across agencies to research, plan around, engage community, and take action to hold the line and push back against the ever present threat of invasive pests. Despite limited funding, these teams have successfully prevented millions of dollars in damages by responding quickly to outbreaks, leading eradication efforts, and working with community groups to protect our forests, watersheds, and neighborhoods. 

Moving HISC and the ISCs under DAB would be a big mistake with potentially devastating consequences. The Department of Agriculture has struggled for years to meet its existing responsibilities, and even after receiving historic levels of funding last year, much of that money remains unspent. Shifting control of our already successful invasive species programs to an untested structure within DAB could set us back years in the fight against invasive species.

Further, I urge you to consider amendments that will better ensure the department and deputy are held accountable to their responsibilities going forward, such as regular reporting requirements to the Board of Agriculture and the public, deadlines for invasive species action plans with clear benchmarks for actions and outcomes, and initial and biannual confirmation hearings for the appointed deputy of biosecurity.

Thank you for your consideration. 

Sincerely,
[Your name]

Testimony instructions

  1. Register for a capitol website account if you haven’t yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)

  2. Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the "Submit Testimony" button.

  3. Enter "SB1100" where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."

  4. Input your information and your written testimony, select your testimony option(s)—in-person + written, remotely + written, written only. Please consider providing verbal testimony (in-person or remotely) if you are able! 

    1. Note: Virtual testimony option may be disabled 24 hours before the hearing.

    If you are testifying via Zoom, be sure to review these instructions (page 4)

February 6 update

SB1100 was passed out of the Senate Agriculture & Environment, Transportation & Culture & the Arts, and Commerce & Consumer Protection Committees with amendments. These amendments include all of the Agriculture Departments’s suggested amendments for clarity on certain definitions, replacing DLNR with DAB under the new department, and other provisions, except the renaming of private inspector. None of the concerns raised in the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi or allies testimony were addressed.

Over 100 pages of testimony were submitted on this measure and we are incredibly grateful for all that took the time to testify. We will have additional chances to ensure that HISC and its ISCs remain independent of the Department of Agriculture and can continue doing the good work that they do day in and day out. We also want to thank Vice-Chair Fukunaga for her reservations, for the same reasons expressed by our organization.

SB1100 Bill Background

The Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council (HISC) and the future of Hawaiʻi’s biosecurity need your help! Please testify on SB1100 and ask that the Committees remove provisions placing HISC and other critical biosecurity entities under the Department of Agriculture, to answer to a new deputy of biosecurity.  

HISC and its county-based invasive species committees play a critical and indispensable role in our fight against invasive species. Administratively attached to the Department of Land and Natural Resources, HISC develops plans, funds projects, coordinates cross-agency efforts, and provides critical support for the Big Island, Maui, Molokaʻi, Oʻahu, and Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committees. These latter county-level committees in turn lead on-the-ground efforts to eradicate and manage pests in our forests, open spaces, and neighborhoods, including through the education, training, and enlistment of community groups and local businesses in our all-hands-on-deck biosecurity efforts. 

Despite extremely limited resources, HISC and its invasive species committees have successfully eradicated dozens of outbreaks of invasive pests throughout the islands - preventing millions of dollars’ worth of damages and the irreversible degradation of our islands’ environmental and cultural integrity, and our quality of life. They also continue to work tirelessly to help manage established pests and mitigate the impacts they have on our communities and landscapes.  

The Department of Agriculture, in contrast, continues to demonstrate an inability or unwillingness to fulfill its critical and exclusive regulatory responsibilities, even after receiving “historic” funding last year that remains largely unspent. 

SB1100 has the commendable goal of ensuring the Department of Agriculture finally embraces its unique roles in our biosecurity framework. However, its specific provisions to have an untested Department of Agriculture deputy of biosecurity direct HISC and other entities focused on invasive species eradication and control may severely disrupt or dismantle some of the very few effective invasive species programs we have. This in turn could set us back years if not decades in our fight against invasive pests, leaving our islands ever more vulnerable to their devastating impacts.

A hearing on SB1100 has been scheduled for a hearing on Thursday, February 6, at 9:30 am, before the Senate Agriculture and Environment, Transportation and Culture and the Arts, and Commerce and Consumer Protection Committees (Room 229). Please take a moment to submit comments OPPOSING the transfer of HISC to the Department of Agriculture. You can also watch the hearing live here. 

What the bill does

SB1100 is an omnibus bill that would re-brand the Department of Agriculture as the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), establish a deputy of biosecurity within the department, and place HISC and other programs and entities under DAB. Other provisions would authorize an emergency response program, provide for “transitional facilities” that the DAB director can require imported goods to be stored and inspected at, provide a process for any entity to request a DAB contract for the implementation of a pest management plan, among others.

Why this is good but needs amendments 

SB1100 emphasizes the Department of Agriculture’s long-neglected biosecurity role, establishing a deputy director of biosecurity to focus on fulfilling this role, and providing the renamed DAB with additional biosecurity tools and funds. However, its proposal to place the HISC and other non-DAB programs under the direction of the DAB and its deputy of biosecurity threatens to throw what few effective biosecurity strategies we have in disarray, rendering our islands critically vulnerable to the potentially devastating impacts of invasive pests.

Sample testimony

Aloha Chairs Gabbard, Lee, Keohokālole, Vice Chairs Richards, Inouye, Fukunaga, and members of the Committees,

My name is [Your name] and I am writing today to offer the following COMMENTS on SB1100. I appreciate and support the provisions to emphasize the need for the Department of Agriculture - to be renamed the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity - to embrace the particular and unique role in our overall biosecurity strategy. However, I STRONGLY OPPOSE placing the Department of Agriculture and the new deputy of biosecurity in charge of the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council and other biosecurity programs outside the Department of Agriculture’s current purview.

While I recognize and appreciate this measure’s effort to get the Department of Agriculture to embrace its long-neglected role in biosecurity, I have serious concerns about placing the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council (HISC) and other external programs and projects under the rebranded Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), as well as the lack of accountability mechanisms for the proposed deputy of biosecurity.

HISC and its county-based invasive species committees (ISCs) play a critical role in stopping invasive pests before they cause lasting damage to our environment, food systems, and communities. HISC coordinates across agencies to research, plan around, engage community, and take action to hold the line and push back against the ever present threat of invasive pests. Despite limited funding, these teams have successfully prevented millions of dollars in damages by responding quickly to outbreaks, leading eradication efforts, and working with community groups to protect our forests, watersheds, and neighborhoods. 

Moving HISC and the ISCs under DAB would be a big mistake with potentially devastating consequences. The Department of Agriculture has struggled for years to meet its existing responsibilities, and even after receiving historic levels of funding last year, much of that money remains unspent. Shifting control of our already successful invasive species programs to an untested structure within DAB could set us back years in the fight against invasive species.

Further, I urge you to consider amendments that will better ensure the department and deputy are held accountable to their responsibilities going forward, such as regular reporting requirements to the Board of Agriculture and the public, deadlines for invasive species action plans with clear benchmarks for actions and outcomes, and initial and biannual confirmation hearings for the appointed deputy of biosecurity.

Thank you for your consideration. 

Sincerely,
[Your name]

Testimony instructions

  1. Register for a capitol website account if you haven’t yet (you’ll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)

  2. Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the "Submit Testimony" button.

  3. Enter "SB1100" where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."

  4. Input your information and your written testimony, select your testimony option(s)—in-person + written, remotely + written, written only. Please consider providing verbal testimony (in-person or remotely) if you are able! 

    *Note: Virtual testimony option may be disabled 24 hours before the hearing.

  5. If you are testifying via Zoom, be sure to review these instructions (page 4)

SUPPORT SB252 + HB427: Invasive Pest Controls

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January 30 update

SB252 was passed with technical amendments by the Senate Committees on Agriculture & Environment and Commerce & Consumer Protections. There were over 57 individual testimonies submitted in support—mahalo nui to everyone that submitted testimony and thank you to Chairs Keohokālole and Gabbard for their leadership on this critical issue.

HB427 was passed with amendments to prevent potential inadvertent impacts to the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council. However, there continues to be a need to ensure any deputy of biosecurity truly embraces their biosecurity responsibilities, given the current Department of Agriculture leadersʻ longstanding failure to do so.

SB252 & HB427 Bill Background

Invasive species like the little fire ant and coconut rhinoceros beetle are already disrupting life in Hawaiʻi, harming farms and food production, cultural practices, recreation, public health, local businesses, and our overall quality of life. These and other pests threaten to radically alter Hawaiʻi’s environment and our and future generations’ connection to these islands, if we do not make immediate and transformative shifts in our biosecurity framework.

Two crucial bills that will help us combat the introduction and spread of invasive pests have been scheduled for a hearing this Wednesday, and could use your support!

SB252 would target the importation and sale of infested items, two major pathways for invasive species to be introduced to and spread across our islands. The bill will be heard on Wednesday, January 29, 9:30am by the Senate Committees on Agriculture and Environment and Commerce and Consumer Protection in conference room 229. You can also watch the hearing live here.

HB427 would re-brand the Department of Agriculture as the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, with additional regulatory authorities relating to imports, quarantines, and emergencies, as well as funding for dozens of full time positions to support its biosecurity functions. The bill will also be heard on Wednesday, January 29, 9:30am by the House Committee on Agriculture & Food Systems in conference room 325. You can also watch the hearing live here.

Take a moment now to testify on these important bills!

What these bills do

SB252 prohibits the import or sale/donation of pest-infested items, and clarifies the Agriculture Department’s authority and responsibility to enforce these prohibitions through administrative inspections and quarantine orders, among other provisions.

HB427 renames the Department of Agriculture as the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), with a deputy of biosecurity to oversee its biosecurity responsibilities. The DAB would have the authority to subpoena documentation from agricultural commodity importers relating to a known or suspected pest infestation, quarantine farms or businesses known to be infested with an invasive pest or restricted species, and declare a biosecurity emergency under certain conditions to transfer funds or temporarily requisition goods, real property, or watercraft to address the emergency. The bill also includes funding for 44 full time positions to support the DAB’s work.

Why your testimony is needed

As we have already experienced, when infested or infected items are brought into Hawaiʻi or moved between or within islands, pests and diseases can spread rapidly, causing significant harm to crops, native species, public health, local businesses, and our quality of life. We’ve also seen that it can take years or decades for the Department of Agriculture to implement quarantines and other controls, leaving Hawaiʻi dangerously exposed to the devastating threats of invasive pests. Hawaiʻi cannot afford further delays in addressing the growing threat of invasive species to our ‘āina, food security, cultural practices, economy, health, and quality of life.

SB252 goes even further than the recent biosecurity rule amendments that allow for quarantines of infested products upon order by the Department of Agriculture. This bill would automatically prohibit the importation and sale or donation of infested items, without requiring the Department of Agriculture to act. 

HB427 emphasizes the Department of Agriculture’s long-neglected biosecurity role, establishing a deputy director of biosecurity to focus on fulfilling this role, and providing the renamed DAB with additional biosecurity tools and funds for much-needed staff positions. While these changes are generally positive, accountability mechanisms may be needed to ensure the department and its deputy actually take their biosecurity responsibilities seriously.

Sample testimony for SB252

Aloha Chairs Keohokālole and Gabbard, Vice Chairs Fukunaga and Richards, and members of the Senate Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Agriculture and Environment,

My name is [Your name] and I strongly support SB252. Invasive species like the little fire ant and coconut rhinoceros beetle are already causing serious harm to Hawaiʻi’s environment, agriculture, and communities, and we must make major transformative shifts in our biosecurity strategy to mitigate the impacts of these and other invasive pests on our islands and future generations.

This bill will make clear that the import and intrastate sale or gift of invasive species-infested items is prohibited - without requiring the Department of Agriculture to pass rules or issue orders, processes that could take months, years, or decades. It will also remove the Department’s ability to use the lack of inspection or quarantine authorities as an excuse for inaction, as has been the case with the little fire ant, coconut rhinoceros beetle, and too many other known pests.

SB252 is essential to safeguarding our environment, food security, and way of life.

Therefore, I urge you to PASS SB252.

Sincerely,
[Your name]

Sample testimony for HB427

Aloha Chair Kahaloa, Vice Chair Kusch, and members of the House Committee on Agriculture & Food Systems,

My name is [Your name] and I support HB427 with a friendly suggestion for amendments. Invasive species like the little fire ant and coconut rhinoceros beetle are already causing serious harm to Hawaiʻi’s environment, agriculture, and communities, and we must make major transformative shifts in our biosecurity strategy to mitigate the impacts of these and other invasive pests on our islands and future generations.

Unfortunately, Department of Agriculture leadership has made it abundantly clear that they are unwilling and/or unable to act decisively and proactively in fulfilling their biosecurity responsibilities, and protecting our islands from the devastating impacts of invasive species. Re-naming the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, and providing for a new deputy director to focus on the department’s biosecurity functions, may help to emphasize the pressing need for it to do its part in our all-hands-on-deck fight against invasive pests. The additional authorities and funding for staff positions may also remove any excuses the department may have for its past failures to uphold its biosecurity role.

I do urge you to consider amendments that will better ensure the department and deputy are held accountable to their responsibilities going forward, such as regular reporting requirements to the Board of Agriculture and the public, deadlines for invasive species action plans with clear benchmarks for actions and outcomes, and initial and biannual confirmation hearings for the appointed deputy of biosecurity.

Accordingly, I urge you to PASS WITH AMENDMENTS HB427.

Sincerely,
[Your name]

Testimony instructions

  1. Register for a capitol website account if you haven’t yet (youʻll need to confirm your registration by responding to an automated email)

  2. Sign in to capitol.hawaii.gov with your registration information and click the "Submit Testimony" button.

  3. Enter "SB252" or “HB427” where it says "Enter Bill or Measure."

  4. Input your information and your written testimony, select your testimony option(s)—in-person + written, remotely + written, written only. Please consider providing verbal testimony (in-person or remotely) if you are able! 
    *Note: Virtual testimony option may be disabled 24 hours before the hearing.

  5. If you are testifying via Zoom, be sure to review these instructions (page 4)