THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2410
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON PESTICIDES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The advisory committee on pesticides is tasked with advising and assisting the department of agriculture in developing or revising laws and rules to carry out and effectuate the purposes of chapter 149A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and with advising the department in pesticide problems. At the time of the advisory committee's establishment, the sugar and pineapple industries were major stakeholders in the State's agricultural landscape. In 1980, Hawaii was home to fourteen sugar and four pineapple plantations that covered more than 300,000 acres. In 2017, these two crops accounted for less than 5,000 acres. According to a 2017 U.S. Department of Agriculture report, diversified agriculture accounted for over $84 million in production while the coffee industry provided the State over $43 million. It is therefore the purpose of this Act to remove the statutory requirement that the sugar and pineapple industries be represented on the advisory committee on pesticides, while clarifying and updating the composition of the committee to include industry representatives, such as representatives of diversified family farms and public health, to more accurately reflect the current state of Hawaii's agricultural industry.

SECTION 2. Section 149A-51, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§149A-51 Advisory committee. There shall be an advisory committee on pesticides composed of but not limited to the chairperson, or the chairperson's designated representative, who shall head the committee and one representative each from the department of health, department of land and natural resources, [University of Hawaii college of tropical agriculture and human resources, sugar industry, pineapple industry,] Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, Hawaii Farmers Union United, pesticide industry, public health industry, structural pest control industry, an environmental organization, a citizen group, and a landscape professional. The advisory committee shall also include an integrated pest management specialist from University of Hawaii college of tropical agriculture and human resources. Members of the advisory committee shall be appointed by the governor from a list of persons recommended by the respective agencies and industries in accordance with section 26-34. The committee shall advise and assist the department in developing or revising laws and rules to carry out and effectuate the purposes of this chapter and in advising the department in pesticide problems."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2022.

INTRODUCED BY:

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Report Title:

Department of Agriculture; Advisory Committee on Pesticides

Description:

Replaces the statutory requirement to include representatives of the pineapple and sugar industries on the Advisory Committee on Pesticides with requirements to include a representative of the Hawaii Farmers Union United and a public health professional on the Advisory Committee on Pesticides. Specifies that the member representing the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources be an integrated pest management specialist.

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