HB2833.DOC

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Hawaii has a vibrant coffee industry with over six thousand three hundred acres of coffee harvested statewide resulting in the production of over eight million pounds of green beans in 2010. Unfortunately, one of the most devastating coffee pests, a tiny brownish-colored beetle a little smaller than the size of a sesame seed known as the coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei), has been found in Hawaii. The coffee berry borer is native to Central Africa and is also found in many coffee-growing regions of the world, including Central and South America. The beetle bores into the coffee cherry to lay its eggs and the larvae feed on the coffee bean, reducing the yield and quality of the bean. Because the larvae are inside the bean, the pest is difficult to control with pesticides.

Although exact dollar amounts are not known, coffee berry borer researchers estimate the damage caused by the coffee berry borer worldwide to be about $500,000,000 per year in an industry worth $90,000,000,000 per year.

The purpose of this Act is to establish a task force within the department of agriculture to draft and coordinate a plan to control the coffee berry borer in Hawaii.

SECTION 2. (a) There is established within the department of agriculture, the coffee berry borer task force that shall draft and coordinate plans for the control of the coffee berry borer.

(b) The task force shall consist of the following members:

(1) The director of the department of agriculture, or the director's designee, to serve as chair;

(2) The dean and director of the college of tropical agriculture and human resources of the University of Hawaii, or a designee of the dean and director;

(3) A representative from the United States Department of Agriculture's Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center in Hilo;

(4) A representative from the cooperative extension service of the college of tropical agriculture and human resources of the University of Hawaii;

(5) A representative from the county of Hawaii department of research and development; and

(6) Representatives from various agricultural organizations and interests within the coffee industry.

(c) Members of the task force shall serve without compensation, and all necessary expenses, including travel expenses, shall be paid by the agency, organization, or department to which the member belongs. No member shall be made subject to chapter 84, Hawaii Revised Statutes, solely because of that member's participation as a member of the task force.

(d) The task force:

(1) Shall advise the department of agriculture on the provision of private grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to promote education and management;

(2) May adopt resolutions encompassing any issue considered by the task force and forward these resolutions to any federal, state, or county agency for appropriate action;

(3) Shall meet at a place and time to be determined by the chair of the task force with meeting notices being posted by the task force as required under chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

(4) Shall accept public testimony at meetings held by the task force.

(e) The department of agriculture shall provide administrative support, including the recording of minutes, to the task force.

(f) The task force shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any measures and strategies to mitigate the effects of the coffee berry borer and any proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2013 and shall cease to exist on May 1, 2013.

SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $500,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2012-2013 for the department of agriculture to:

(1) Fund investigative research into practical techniques suited to Hawaii to combat the effects of coffee berry borer; and

(2) Implement a comprehensive educational program to increase independent farmer understanding of the coffee berry borer and to increase farmer participation in management strategies to minimize the impact of unmanaged and feral coffee.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of agriculture for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2012.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2833
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012
STATE OF HAWAII