Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Energy and Environmental Protection and Agriculture, to which was referred H.B. No. 1830 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to provide the necessary funds for the control of invasive species adversely affecting the agricultural industry.

The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii, Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, Conservation Council for Hawaii, Pineapple Growers Association of Hawaii, Maui County Farm Bureau, Office of the Mayor of Maui County, Sierra Club, Hawaii Chapter, and Hawaii Audubon Society supported this bill. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs supported this measure with amendments. The Department of Agriculture (DOA) and the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) supported the intent of the bill.

Your Committees have amended this bill by requiring the Hawaii Invasive Species Council (Council) to report back to the Legislature on its progress, findings, and any recommendations.

Although DOA and DLNR support the intent of this measure, they stated their preference for the $5,000,000 request by the Administration reflected in the budget and further commented on the work of the Council. In 2002, Executive Order No. 2002-03 established the Council. Last year, to ensure its continuation, the Legislature codified the Council through Act 85, Session Laws of Hawaii 2003 (Act 85). The purposes of Act 85 are to:

Act 85 did not create any new function of government or require additional funding.

The concern of your Committees is that the prevention and eradication of invasive species require a long-term commitment. The testimony by DOA and DLNR did not clearly delineate whether the requested $5,000,000 is to be part of the base budget or, rather, a one-time appropriation to be expended over the duration of the life of the Council, which will sunset on July 1, 2008.

Accordingly, your Committees support this measure with a blank appropriation. Nothing herein should be construed as diminishing your Committees' support for the important effort of controlling and eliminating invasive species. However, being fiscally prudent, the $5,000,000 request requires additional clarification. A blank appropriation amount provides your Committee on Finance the flexibility necessary to balance all competing needs and to assess the specific programs within various departments targeting the issue of invasive species and its relationship to the $5,000,000 budget request.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Energy and Environmental Protection and Agriculture that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1830, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1830, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.