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Senate committees advance bill broadening plant quarantine and inspection powers to block invasive pests
Summary
A joint Senate committee recommended passing SB 252 with amendments to bar importation and sale of pest-infested items and give the Department of Agriculture authority to inspect, quarantine and destroy infested materials; supporters called the changes a key biosecurity gap fix.
A joint meeting of the Hawaii State Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection and the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment on Jan. 29 recommended passing SB 252 with amendments to strengthen the state’s plant quarantine authorities.
Supporters told lawmakers the amendment would prohibit importing items infested with insects, diseases or other pests, authorize administrative inspections of imports and allow the Department of Agriculture to compel quarantine, treatment or destruction of certain materials.
The measure drew broad support from conservation and invasive-species groups. Chelsea Arnott of the Hawaii Invasive Species Council said the change responds to a long-standing shortfall: “This is a huge gap that was 1 of the highest priority actions identified in our interagency biosecurity plan when we did the planning process back in 2016.”
Christy Martin of the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species said the bill clarifies that intentionally imported pests must have a permit and expands the department’s authority to inspect nonagricultural goods — for example, outdoor furniture or other items whose surfaces can carry hitchhiking pests. “We’re in strong support of this measure,” Martin said, and noted the bill would shift responsibility to vendors by making it unlawful to sell merchandise known to be pest-infested.
Jonathan Ho, branch manager for the Plant Quarantine Branch at the Department of Agriculture, told the committee the department currently inspects only a fraction of arriving sea-container cargo: “That's probably 10 to 15% of what's imported, at least for sea containers.” He and senators discussed tradeoffs between thorough inspections and commerce delays, and options to use manifests, commodity descriptions or targeted risk-assessment work to prioritize inspections.
The committee record noted 59 written testifiers in support, zero opposed and one comment. The chairs said they would adopt amendments proposed by the Department of Agriculture and technical edits; both committees’ recommendations were recorded as adopted during decision-making.
Why it matters: Witnesses described the bill as closing a biosecurity gap that could prevent entry of high-risk pests — including the red imported fire ant — and give the state clearer authority to act on nonagricultural goods that current rules do not clearly reach.
What’s next: The committees advanced the measure with amendments; the record shows the chairs’ recommendation to pass with amendments was adopted by the committees.
