STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1049

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 655

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Water and Land and Agriculture and Environment, to which was referred H.B. No. 655, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE ROSE-RINGED PARAKEET,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds for the Department of Land and Natural Resources to assist and provide supplemental funds to the National Wildlife Research Center of the United States Department of Agriculture to:

     (1)  Research the negative impacts of the rose-ringed parakeet on the island of Kauai; and

     (2)  Develop and implement a control plan to reduce the negative impacts of the rose-ringed parakeet on the island of Kauai.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, Kaua‘i Invasive Species Committee, Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii, Hawai‘i Farm Bureau, Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species, DOW Agrosciences, Hawaii Crop Improvement Association, Kauai County Farm Bureau, and eighty-eight individuals.  Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from Animal Rights Hawai‘i.

     Your Committees find that the rose-ringed parakeet, Psittacula krameri, native to Africa and India, is considered to be one of the most significant agricultural pests of important food crops.  The National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) of the United States Department of Agriculture estimated there were more than two thousand rose-ringed parakeets on Kauai as of 2011 and concluded that these birds are probably dispersing invasive plant species, including lilikoi and strawberry and yellow guava; possibly destroying native seeds, including koa; and potentially competing with native birds for fruits, seeds, and nesting sites.  Additionally, the parakeets are damaging and reducing the yield of many crops, including lychee, longan, and rambutan.  Your Committees find that additional research is needed for the development and preliminary implementation of an effective control plan for rose-ringed parakeets on Kauai, and suggest an appropriation of $180,000 for the Department of Land and Natural Resources to provide assistance to and collaborate with the NWRC for the completion of the NWRC research study on Kauai.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Inserting an effective date of March 15, 2099, to encourage further discussion; and

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Water and Land and Agriculture and Environment that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 655, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 655, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Water and Land and Agriculture and Environment,

________________________________ MIKE GABBARD, Chair

________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair