Dozens of food and agriculture bills that could affect farmers, ranchers, consumers and more were set to be heard in conference hearings at the Hawaiʻi State Capitol last week.
Many of the top priority food and agriculture measures initially introduced in January have passed those hearings and now await final floor votes in the House and Senate — the last hurdle before they can be sent to the governor.
Agricultural crimes
One of those top agriculture measures aims to deter crimes on farms and ranches, namely trespassing, theft and vandalism.
Senate Bill 1249, which passed through conference committee last week, would establish an agricultural enforcement pilot program within the state Department of Law Enforcement.
The measure would create nine DLE jobs and allocate $950,000 for each of the next two years from the state's general funds specifically for the program.
SB 1249, also known as “Duke's Law,” was introduced following the fatal shooting of 39-year-old farmer Cranston Pia on Oʻahu early last year.
The Waiʻanae farmer was allegedly shot during an argument with armed hunters who were accused of trespassing on Pia's farm.
“Honestly, it's a mixed feeling… There's elation 'cause we got something done, but I'm also very mindful of why we were pushed into this because of a tragic situation,” said Sen. Tim Richards, who introduced the measure. “I gave my word to his mother that I would not let this go, and so I feel good because I can deliver to his mother something that I promised.”
The bill covers several issues, but would in part let the state Department of Agriculture set administrative fines for agricultural crimes and seize items related to those offenses.
Additionally, it would create felony offense charges for habitual offenders — those who commit three or more agricultural crimes within five years — and those who illegally hunt on farms. It would also amend rules for night hunting and trespassing on agricultural land.
Richards, the vice-chair for the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment and a rancher himself, has personally had to deal with trespassing hunters on his land.
He and other farmers say there's little they can do with the current laws and resources to stop agricultural crimes.
Richards introduced a now-dead measure, Senate Bill 1248, that would have allowed farmers to use deadly force if threatened on their land.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that agricultural crimes cost Hawaiʻi farmers $12.8 million last year.
The group Hawaiʻi Food+ Policy, in written testimony, said, “Farmers and ranchers in Hawaiʻi already face a multitude of challenges, from unpredictable weather patterns and pest infestations to labor shortages and rising operational costs. The added burden of agricultural crime further strains their resources and threatens their ability to remain sustainable.”
Interagency food systems working group
Another bill that made it through conference hearings last week has been part of a longer legislative effort.
Sen. Mike Gabbard, who chairs the Senate's agriculture committee, has introduced measures similar to Senate Bill 1186 for three years.
The bill would form an “interagency food systems working group” under the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism's Agribusiness Development Corporation. It would be co-chaired by the state Board of Agriculture chair and DBEDT's director.
The group would start the work to make Hawaiʻi's food system more resilient by encouraging local farming, decreasing the state's dependence on food imports and making food more accessible to residents.
“It's a food system that basically delivers food security and nutrition for everybody. It includes everything from producing, processing, packaging, and transporting the food to consumers,” Gabbard said.
The group would include leaders from all along the local food supply chain.
Gabbard first introduced measures to create a food systems working group during the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlighted food insecurity in Hawaiʻi and the state's dependence on imported food.
He introduced a resolution last year that created a temporary food systems working group to come up with an initial plan and possible legislation to submit to lawmakers.
The group submitted that report in December, giving rise to SB 1186.
While the state has set up various goals to increase local food production, Gabbard noted that there isn't a feasible and coordinated effort to reach those goals.
SB 1186 would also set aside $100,000 in state funds this year for the working group's operating costs.
Biosecurity
Lawmakers have also continued to keep biosecurity top of mind this session.
Last year, they provided the state Department of Agriculture with $10 million for invasive species management.
This year, they’re moving the 80-page House Bill 427 that would add more rules, funding, and programs to further strengthen the state's ability to stop pest species from establishing in the state and impacting crops, the environment, and local communities.
The department, in part to illustrate its evolving priorities, would be renamed the “Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity.”
A deputy for biosecurity, chosen by the governor, would also be added to the department's leadership team, and the department's board would be required to include someone with a biosecurity background.
The omnibus measure covers a swath of changes to state biosecurity rules, including allowing the governor to declare a biosecurity emergency if a pest becomes or threatens to become “beyond the State's ability to control.” The governor would have the ability to take control of goods, vessels and property and use funds to control the pest.
The measure would also amend the processes for goods imported into the state and between islands.
Taking a page from New Zealand's biosecurity playbook, HB 427 would set up privately run “transitional facilities” away from ports where imported goods could be sent to be inspected for pests. Licensed inspectors would check goods possibly harboring invasive species before they can be distributed further.
The measure would support quarantines of infested areas, strengthen the inspection process for items being shipped to and around the state.
The department would have the ability to enter “readiness” agreements with private businesses to investigate and manage the spread of pests. That’s likely a response to issues the state has had accessing nurseries, landscaping businesses and other operations thought to be moving plants and other material infested with invasive little fire ants.
The bill would set aside $9.5 million for the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council and $1 million for the Hawaiʻi Ant Lab.
One of the measure’s more controversial proposals would move HISC from being attached to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to the agriculture department.
Conservation advocates, the DLNR and even HISC itself have all expressed concern about the potential move and resulting shift in the council’s priorities.
The council, in written testimony, said that invasive species management shouldn’t be guided completely by agriculture.
“Even with the addition of the term ‘biosecurity’ to the Department of Agriculture, there still needs to be the inclusion of other state agencies in biosecurity efforts that address public health, the environment and economic drivers beyond agriculture. Biosecurity must be an interagency effort,” it said.
Some are also unconvinced that the agriculture department can properly manage HISC because the department has been under scrutiny for not being able to handle its current biosecurity responsibilities.
Other measures
Other bills still alive would support various food and farming programs. State funds have also been set aside in many of those measures and the budget.
While it’s still too early to celebrate, Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau’s Brian Miyamoto commended the Legislature’s support.
“Thus far, the Legislature has shown their commitment to agriculture through the state budget, through the many bills that have passed,” he said. “So, we're extremely thrilled.”
The measures that advanced through conference hearings last week must pass final floor votes before the session ends Friday in order to be sent to the governor’s office for consideration.
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