STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO.425

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.B. No. 857

S.D. 1

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Energy and Environment, to which was referred S.B. No. 857 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ALIEN INVASIVE SPECIES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish an invasive species administrator that may appoint an advisory body and shall designate the Departments of Agriculture, Health, and Land and Natural Resources as the lead agencies for invasive species. The lead agencies are authorized to enter private property for the purposes of controlling or eradicating alien invasive species.

The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii, Na Leo Pohai, and the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species submitted testimony in support of this measure. The Board of Land and Natural Resources submitted comments on this measure.

Your Committee finds that current alien species prevention and control programs are inadequate to protect Hawaii. Resources to deal with the 200-500 invasive species that already severely impact our economy, agriculture, native ecosystems, and quality of life fall far short of what is needed to provide meaningful prevention and control.

Further, your Committee finds that the critical next step to combating invasive species is coordination among all state agencies. An invasive species administrator will provide direction and organization among the agencies involved to more effectively reduce invasive species in the State.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Providing that the administrator shall designate each lead agency for each function of invasive species control, rather than by each invasive species, for purposes of efficiency;

(2) Authorizing the lead agencies to enter premises to control or eradicate the invasive species without requiring that the invasive species be previously identified by the administrator, so as not to hinder immediate eradication;

(3) Authorizing the lead agencies to provide notice and order a private owner to control or eradicate the invasive species if the species was intentionally and knowingly established by the owner and not naturally dispersed; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive changes to accommodate the aforementioned amendments, and for clarity and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy and Environment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 857, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 857, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Energy and Environment,

		____________________________ J. KALANI ENGLISH, Chair