STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1486-18

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2018

RE: S.B. No. 2116

S.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Agriculture, to which was referred S.B. No. 2116, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO BIOSECURITY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish a mechanism for rapidly responding to terrestrial and aquatic biosecurity emergencies at or beyond ports in the State to mitigate or eradicate newly detected biosecurity threats by:

(1) Establishing and funding the Biosecurity Emergency Response Special Fund (Special Fund);

(2) Establishing criteria and procedures for declaration of a biosecurity emergency by the Governor, which authorizes the Department of Agriculture to take emergency response actions and expend funds from the Special Fund without legislative approval;

(3) Requiring the Department of Agriculture to account for and report expenditures from the Special Fund in its annual report to the Legislature; and

(4) Appropriating funds to support multiagency terrestrial and aquatic emergency responses by emergency task forces to mitigate or eliminate biosecurity threats.

The Hawai‘i Farm Bureau, Oahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, and several concerned individuals supported this measure. The Department of Agriculture, Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Budget and Finance, and State Procurement Office submitted comments on this measure.

Your Committee respectfully requests your Committee on Finance consider the concerns of the State Procurement Office, relating to the necessity to specify that the Department of Agriculture may disregard the Hawaii Public Procurement Code while exercising its emergency powers, as expressed in its testimony on this measure and take any action deemed appropriate.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Agriculture that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2116, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

RICHARD P. CREAGAN, Chair