STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3538

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    GOV. MSG. NOS. 873, 874, 875

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Agriculture, to which was referred Governor's Message Nos. 873, 874, and 875, submitting for study and consideration the nominations of: 

Advisory Committee on Pesticides

G.M. No. 873	PATRICK BILY, for a term to expire 6-30-2015;
G.M. No. 874	QING XIAO LI, for a term to expire 6-30-2015; and
G.M. No. 875	REBECCA CAROL TAYLOR, for a term to expire 6-30-2015,

begs leave to report as follows:

     Your Committee has reviewed the personal histories, resumes, and statements submitted by the nominees and finds Patrick Bily, Qing Xiao Li, and Rebecca Carol Taylor to possess the requisite qualifications to be nominated to the Advisory Committee on Pesticides.

PATRICK BILY

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Patrick Bily from the Department of Agriculture, Hawaii Land Restoration Institute, and The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii.

     Your Committee finds that Patrick Bily received an Associate's degree in Social Science from Essex College.

     Mr. Bily went on to establish his own landscaping service, specializing in landscape design, irrigation, pest control, and plant establishment, and also ran his own nursery.

     Mr. Bily currently works for The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii, performing a variety of conservation duties and specializing in invasive plant control.  He serves as a Science Specialist at The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii's Maui office.  Mr. Bily is also the Chair of the Maui Invasive Species Committee.

     Mr. Bily has decades of experience working with the application of herbicides in natural areas and has extensive experience in the use of new technologies to control invasive plant species. 

     Mr. Bily's many years of experience as a general botanist and invasive plant specialist will serve him well as a member of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides.

QING XIAO LI

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Qing Xiao Li from the Department of Agriculture and three individuals.

     Your Committee finds that Qing Xiao Li received a Bachelor's degree in Agriculture from Shandong Agricultural University.  Mr. Li went on to receive his Doctorate of Philosophy in Agriculture and Environmental Chemistry from the University of California at Davis.  He conducted his post-doctoral training at the University of California at Berkley in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management.

     Mr. Li joined the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources in 1995 and has served as the Director of the Pesticide Residue Research Laboratory since that time.  In this position, Mr. Li has worked closely with the Department of Agriculture's Pesticides Branch and the Department of Health's Office of Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response.

     Mr. Li has previously served a four-year term as a member of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides.  His educational and professional background on pesticide research and his passion for providing solutions to pesticide problems qualify him to serve an additional term as a member of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides.

REBECCA CAROL TAYLOR

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Rebecca Carol Taylor from the Department of Agriculture.

     Your Committee finds that Rebecca Carol Taylor received her Bachelor's degree in Mathematics from the University of Arkansas.  Ms. Taylor received a Master's degree in Business Administration from Hawaii Pacific University.  She also holds an Associate's degree in Interior Design from South Central Career College.

     Ms. Taylor has experience as an engineer in the petroleum industry in Arkansas.  Ms. Taylor has also worked as a Technical Planning Specialist for the State of Arkansas, helping to design and implement automated systems for government agencies and commissions.  In that capacity, Ms. Taylor was tasked with accounting for the use of pesticides in Arkansas.

     Your Committee further finds that Ms. Taylor previously served a four-year term as a member of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides as the representative of the citizen group.  Her analytical mindset and ability to process critical information will serve her well in her second term as a member of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committee on Agriculture that are attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominees, has found the nominees to be qualified for the positions to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nominations.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Agriculture,

____________________________

CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair