Senate committees pass amended SB 1100 expanding biosecurity authority, creating biosecurity inspector license

Senate committees on Agriculture and Environment (AEN), Transportation and Culture and the Arts (TCA) and Commerce and Consumer Protection (CPN) on Feb. 6 passed Senate Bill 1100 with amendments that expand state biosecurity duties, rename and license “biosecurity inspectors” and set a series of staggered effective dates for the measure.

The measure drew extended testimony from invasive‑species groups, state agencies and community members who supported stronger biosecurity but differed about where the Hawaii Invasive Species Council (HISC) and other functions should be placed and whether the Department of Agriculture has the capacity to carry out the work.

Chelsea Arnott, testifying for the Hawaii Invasive Species Council, said the council was created as “an autonomous form with the purpose of statewide coordination and policy direction for the prevention and management of invasive species” and urged that the council remain an interagency forum rather than be subject to a single agency’s jurisdiction. Don Chang, director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, said DLNR supports DOA’s work but asked the Legislature to continue funding DLNR for invasive‑species management and listed specific budget requests, including $4,250,000 for statewide invasive species emergency response and $500,000 for the Hawaii Ant Lab.

Christy…