STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2911

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 2803
                                        H.D. 2
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Economic Development, to which was
referred H.B. No. 2803, H.D. 2, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PLANT AND NON-DOMESTIC ANIMAL
     QUARANTINE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to assist the biotechnology
industry by streamlining the procedures and simplifying the
requirements for importing microorganisms into the State.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure
from the Board of Agriculture and the College of Tropical
Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa.

     Specifically, this measure:

     (1)  Repeals the requirement that:

          (A)  The Board of Agriculture maintain a list of
               prohibited microorganisms, or microorganisms that
               are prohibited entry into the State; and

          (B)  Unlisted microorganisms are to be considered
               prohibited microorganisms until they are placed on
               the lists of nonrestricted, restricted, or
               prohibited microorganisms;


 
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     (2)  Requires the Board of Agriculture to maintain a list of
          microorganisms that are select human pathogens allowed
          entry into the State without a permit but that require
          notification for possible inspection and monitoring;

     (3)  Allows the import and possession of an unlisted
          microorganism based on the level of risk presented by
          the import to agriculture, horticulture, the
          environment, or animal or public health;

     (4)  Allows the issuance of an emergency permit without
          advisory committee review, to authorize the import and
          possession of a microorganism on the list of restricted
          microorganisms or an unlisted microorganism for the
          purpose of remediating an emergency or disaster;

     (5)  Defines a "microbial product" as any product
          manufactured with known cultures of microorganisms for
          the purpose of bioremediation or bioaugmentation,
          including products such as microbial pesticides;

     (6)  Allows microbial products containing certain strains of
          microorganisms on the nonrestricted list of
          microorganisms to enter the State without a permit, but
          prohibits their importation without a registration;

     (7)  Establishes the permit revolving fund, and appropriates
          $25,000 from the revolving fund, to facilitate the
          processing and issuance of permits, to facilitate the
          amendment of lists of creatures prohibited or allowed
          for import, for compliance monitoring activities, and
          for training, personnel, educational workshops,
          materials, and equipment; and

     (8)  Allows user fees to be assessed for the registration of
          microbial products containing certain strains of
          microorganisms.

     In addition, this measure repeals the requirement that the
Board of Agriculture maintain a list of prohibited plants, or
plants that are prohibited entry into the State.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical,
nonsubstantive changes to improve accuracy and understanding of
the text, to reflect preferred drafting style, and to correct
statutory cross references to conform to the amended measure.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Economic Development that is attached to this

 
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report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose
of H.B. No. 2803, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that
it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B.
No. 2803, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on
Ways and Means.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Economic
                                   Development,



                                   ______________________________
                                   LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair

 
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