The clock is ticking for the state Department of Agriculture to spend the $10 million biosecurity fund given by the state Legislature last year.
Those funds come from Act 231, what some called a “landmark” measure in Hawaiʻi for controlling invasive species. It provided about $7.5 million for contracts and programs responding to pest species like little fire ants or coconut rhinoceros beetles, and $2.5 million to fund 44 biosecurity-related state job positions.
Department Chair Sharon Hurd is confident most of it will be spent by June 30, the end of the fiscal year.
“ We’ve got things in the pipeline. By the end of the fiscal year, whether or not it's a blanket encumbrance or not, a majority of these funds will be encumbered,” she said.
If she doesn’t, the unspent money lapses back into the state’s general fund.
And there are doubts.
As of Jan. 21, the department has spent or encumbered less than $1.4 million of Act 231 money, according to a progress report the department sent to Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, the chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection.
The department also said it spent just $7,500 of that money on payroll — although none of the 44 positions have been filled.
Hurd said the department won’t actually be able to fill those positions by the summer, so most of the $2.5 million is likely to lapse.
She said one year isn’t enough time to fill those jobs.
The department’s management of Act 231 funding has led to some concerns from state lawmakers.
In a recent informational briefing, Keohokalole grilled Hurd and department leadership for how little it’s spent or encumbered so far.
He noted that the DOA previously reported to lawmakers that closer to half of the $10 million was encumbered.
“To be misled like this in public briefings that are being streamed live … for taxpayers to watch is very unsettling,” Keohokalole said.
Hurd later apologized for creating “confusion” but said she did not mean to be misleading.
During the recent informational briefing, other lawmakers questioned the department’s $1.1 million allocation for little fire ant eradication.
The DOA initiated a request for proposal and received one bid for a contract to assist residential properties with LFA treatment on Hawaiʻi, Kauaʻi, Maui and Oʻahu.
Terminix was awarded the contract, but the department was asked why it went with a private company and didn’t attempt to have the Hawaiʻi Ant Lab, a University of Hawaiʻi program, do that work instead.
Hurd said liability considerations were top of mind, especially when using chemicals at homes and near people. Other DOA leaders said that HAL is small compared to a large company like Terminix, which could “hit the ground running” once given the task of treating homes.
Greg Takashima, the department’s pesticides program manager, said, “The main reason that we did choose that and we chose to go with a structural pest control company is because they have the capacity. They have a lot of employees.”
Lawmakers were worried that using a private company was less reliable and would cost more than using HAL.
“I'll be honest. I'm pretty irritated. … This process has been going way too slow,” said Rep. Scot Matayoshi, who chairs the House Committee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.
“I have no idea why Terminix was the or why you did not allow Hawaiʻi Ant Lab to bid on the RFP for little fire ants,” he said.
Chelsea Arnott, Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council program supervisor, said HAL experts developed the protocols and treatments for little fire ants, and that they could begin work immediately.
But she did say that staff is limited and that, in general, it needs more funding.
Keohokalole suggested that the DOA’s management of funds could affect how much the state Legislature gives it this year for managing invasive species.
“We need leadership on this issue. The Legislature cannot go in and run executive branch departments — we have cabinet officials to do that. And my concern is, how can the community have confidence in the state's ability to lead this effort when we're not getting the truth?” he said.