Senate committees weigh renewable-fuel plan, tighten pesticide reporting; multiple agriculture bills advance or are deferred

The Senate committees on Agriculture and Environment and on Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs met in room 224 on Jan. 29, 2025, to hear more than a dozen agriculture- and environment-related measures, including bills on renewable aviation fuel, electric‑vehicle battery recycling and pesticide reporting.

A single hearing produced extended debate on two policy areas: a proposed tax-credit and incentive package to promote sustainable aviation fuel (Senate Bill 995) and new reporting and buffer-zone requirements for restricted‑use pesticides (Senate Bills 351 and 352). Committees deferred decision on SB 995 after hours of testimony, advanced several other bills with committee amendments, and approved changes to a proposed electric-vehicle battery recycling commission.

Why it matters: The renewable‑fuel debate touched on land use, food security, taxpayer cost and the pace of private investment, while the pesticide measures addressed public health transparency and regulatory burden for farmers and pest-control operators. Lawmakers moved quickly through other bills on nurseries, invasive‑species placarding, agricultural water studies and workforce housing, often adopting technical amendments or deferring funding language to committee reports.

Renewable fuels (SB 995)

Representatives of growers, fuel producers and the airlines described competing concerns about whether Hawaii could produce significant quantities of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) locally and whether a state tax credit is the right way to incentivize production.

Nahelani Parsons, representing the Hawaii Renewable Fuels Coalition, said coalition members include the Hawaii Farm Bureau and Pacific Biodiesel and that the coalition supports the measure and has proposed technical amendments. Chris Bennett of Pono Pacific described pilot trials: he said trial yields “ranging from 1,000 an acre up to 2,000 an acre” (units not specified in testimony) and that camelina seed typically contains “about 30 to 40% oil from the seeds that will be processed into renewable fuel.” Bennett said the oilseed’s seed cake can be used as approved livestock feed and argued that the dual revenue streams make camelina viable for Hawaii farmers.

Alana James, managing director of sustainability initiatives at Hawaiian Airlines (testifying for Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines), said the bill “establishes critical incentives to promote the production and import of sustainable aviation fuel” and described SAF as “the most promising technology to…