Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Committee advances multiple invasive-species and biosecurity funding bills; members request program details
Loading...
Summary
The House agriculture committee advanced bills to increase funding and staff for invasive species and agricultural biosecurity, asking agencies and MISC to clarify program responsibilities and funding mechanisms.
The House Committee on Agriculture and Food Systems advanced several measures this week aimed at strengthening Hawaii’s invasive-species prevention and agricultural biosecurity capacity.
Lawmakers voted to move HB 299 (Hawaii Invasive Species Council funding), HB 1237 (biosecurity funding for Maui County, Moloka‘i and Lāna‘i-related efforts) and HB 775 (permanent positions for agricultural biosecurity) to continue policy development and budget talks.
Supporters — including the Hawaii Invasive Species Council (HISC), Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, island invasive species committees and conservation groups — described HISC as a small agency that leverages state funds by distributing competitive grants to a broad set of partners. Chelsea Arnott of HISC said most HISC funds are dispersed to interagency projects and on-the-ground work: “A majority of those funds get dispersed out to interagency projects and programs really to enhance between-agency mandates, fill gaps, and also a lot of research for new tools and technology.”
Testimony described concrete needs. Maui’s island invasive species committee said coqui frog control has reached a “turning point,” with eradication no longer feasible in some areas and the program needing more support for outlying eradication, community control efforts and innovation such as drone treatments. The committee requested clarification about how proposed funds for little fire ant control would be managed and whether funds would go to MISC via the University of Hawai‘i Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit.
Department of Agriculture and quarantine staff testified about inspection capacity on Moloka‘i and Lāna‘i. The department said statutory definitions and freight logistics mean many goods arrive via Maui or Honolulu, so an on-island inspector presence requires operational adjustments. Department staff suggested short-term approaches such as scheduling inspection staff from Maui to travel more frequently while developing a longer-term biosecurity staffing model.
Farm Bureau and other agricultural groups urged larger funding to meet estimated needs. Farm Bureau testimony noted an estimated $88 million total cost to address invasive species in 2025 and asked the legislature to consider a larger multiyear funding commitment.
The committee’s action advanced the bills with amendments and asked agencies and community partners to provide clarified implementation plans and program relationships (for example, specifying the University of Hawai‘i as the contracting entity for some county-level invasive-species work). Members also asked HDOA and HISC to provide prioritized funding needs for the committee report and future budget negotiations.
The measures will proceed for further legislative consideration; committee members said they plan to note requested FTEs and appropriation needs in committee reports rather than leaving dollar totals in the bill text.
