THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

3214

THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to pest control.

 

 

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

 

PART I

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the coffee borer beetle and coffee leaf rust are growing threats to Hawaii's coffee industry.  Coffee is the second most valuable crop in the State's economy, earning approximately $50,160,000 per year, according to the United States Department of Agriculture's 2018 state agriculture overview.  The coffee borer beetle was first found in the Kona and Kau regions of the island of Hawaii in 2010 and was detected on the island of Oahu in 2014, the island of Maui in 2016, and the islands of Kauai and Lanai in 2020.  More than ninety per cent of coffee farms in the Kona region are affected by the coffee borer beetle, and most farms have experienced some degree of infestation and secondary infestation.  The pests have drastically reduced the yield of coffee trees in Kona and adversely impacted the quantity and price of coffee from the region.

     The legislature recognizes that, in 2020, the United States Department of Agriculture confirmed the presence of coffee leaf rust (the fungus Hemileia vastrix) in the Holualoa area of the Kona region.  To date, in the United States, coffee leaf rust has only been found in Hawaii, specifically in Holualoa, Hawaii; Haiku, Maui; and on the island of Lanai.  A February 2021 survey of commercial coffee farms on the island of Hawaii found that eleven of the seventeen conventional and organic farms surveyed tested positive for coffee leaf rust.  The long-term effects of coffee leaf rust may include dieback, or progressive death of the trees' branches, shoots, or roots, which would significantly impact the following year's coffee yield.  Some researchers estimate losses of thirty per cent to eighty per cent of Hawaii's coffee crop if coffee leaf rust is left unchecked.

     The legislature further finds that, in addition to chemical and organic pesticides, there are various organic approaches and ecological pest management strategies that can be used to deter and destroy the coffee borer beetle and coffee leaf rust.  These approaches are particularly useful and necessary for allowing organic farms to address pests while maintaining their organic coffee certifications.  These non-pesticide methods include field sanitation, biocontrol agents, and soil amendments.  A research paper published in 2021 in the journal Agronomy found that soil amendments that balance the mineral nutrition of the coffee plant are effective at reducing coffee leaf rust and preventing its spread, especially when combined with foliar application of nutritional supplements.  The College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources at the University of Hawaii at Manoa recommended "following an integrated pest management approach, using as many of the suggestions as possible," because "research in foreign coffee-producing regions has proven that no single approach will control [the coffee borer beetle]."

     Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to amend the pesticide revolving fund and pesticide subsidy program to include all effective pest control methods available to farmers, including physical, cultural, organic-compliant chemical, and ecological approaches.

PART II

     SECTION 2.  Act 105, Session Laws of Hawaii 2014, as amended by section 1 of Act 152, Session Laws of Hawaii 2015, as amended by section 2 of Act 65, Session Laws of Hawaii 2017, as amended by section 2 of Act 32, Session Laws of Hawaii 2018, as amended by section 43 of Act 111, Session Laws of Hawaii, 2019, as amended by section 2 of Act 138, Session Laws of Hawaii 2021, is amended by amending section 3 to read:

     "SECTION 3.  (a)  There is established in the department of agriculture a [pesticide] pest control subsidy program to be administered by the department beginning on July 1, 2014, and ending on June 30, 2023.  The department shall grant subsidies to coffee growers to assist the coffee growers in offsetting the costs of purchasing any [pesticide that is listed] appropriate pest control method identified by the department pursuant to [subsection] subsections (f)[.] and (g).

     (b)  Applications for subsidies by coffee growers shall be submitted on a form furnished by the department and shall be filed with accompanying documentation of the costs of [purchasing the pesticide;] implementing the pest control method; provided that:

     (1)  The applicant shall indemnify and hold harmless the State and its officers, agents, and employees from all claims arising out of or resulting from the [pesticide purchased;] pest control method implemented; and

     (2)  The department may request that an applicant provide necessary information for the purposes of verifying the size or sale weight, as applicable, and amount of the [pesticide purchased.] pest control method implemented.

     (c)  Documentation of [pesticide] pest control method costs, as requested by the department, shall be filed for [pesticides purchased] pest control methods implemented within the immediately preceding fiscal year of filing and shall be effective for [pesticide] pest control method costs incurred after June 30, 2014, and before July 1, 2023.

     (d)  Funds shall be disbursed upon approval on an annual basis by the department to the coffee grower for up to seventy‑five per cent of the costs incurred for the purchase of the [pesticide] pest control method before July 1, 2023.

     (e)  The department shall aggregate the total subsidy applications pursuant to this section and divide and distribute the available subsidy funds on a pro rata basis; provided that no single coffee grower shall receive subsidies that are more than $600 per year for coffee berry borer control per acre of land in coffee production and more than $600 per year for coffee leaf rust control per acre of land in coffee production; provided further that no single coffee grower shall receive subsidies that are more than $9,000 per year; provided further that no single coffee grower shall receive subsidies that total more than $6,000 per year for the period after June 30, 2018, and before July 1, 2021; provided further that no single coffee grower shall receive subsidies that total more than $12,000 per year for the period after June 30, 2021, and before July 1, 2023.

     (f)  The department shall establish a list of pesticides that are registered with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and are licensed with the State that contain Beauveria bassiana, a fungus known to eradicate the coffee berry borer, as an active ingredient.  The department shall also establish a list of pesticides that are registered with the United States Environmental Protection Agency; are licensed with the State; and are contact and systemic fungicides that, when combined, are effective against coffee leaf rust.

     (g)  The department, in collaboration with an organic agricultural expert from the university of Hawaii college of tropical agriculture and human resources, shall establish a list of pest control methods that are eligible for the subsidy, including:

     (1)  Soil amendments;

     (2)  Biological and ecological control strategies for invasive species; and

     (3)  Other recognized practices in the agricultural industry.

     [(g)] (h)  There is established within the department a [pesticide] pest control subsidy program manager position, which shall be a full-time, temporary position exempt from chapters 76 and 89, Hawaii Revised Statutes.  The [pesticide] pest control subsidy program manager shall possess a requisite level of knowledge and expertise in the area of program management necessary to carry out the duties of the position.  The [pesticide] pest control subsidy program manager shall:

     (1)  Facilitate the efficient division and distribution of available subsidy funds; and

     (2)  Manage the day-to-day coordination for the [pesticide] pest control subsidy program.

     The [pesticide] pest control subsidy program manager shall receive a salary of not more than $50,000 per year.  The [pesticide] pest control subsidy program manager position, including the position's exemption from chapters 76 and 89, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall expire on June 30, 2024.

     [(h)] (i)  Not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2023, the department shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the legislature on the results of the subsidy program and whether the program should be allowed to expire or be extended, and if extended, with or without modification.

     [(i)] (j)  Actions taken by the department pursuant to this section shall be exempt from the rulemaking requirements of section 91-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

     [(j)] (k)  As used in this Act, "department" means the department of agriculture."

PART III

     SECTION 3.  Section 149A-13.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§149A-13.5  [Pesticide use] Pest control revolving fund; [pesticide] pest control training workshops; training fee.  (a)  There is established within the treasury of the State, a [pesticide use] pest control revolving fund.  The fund shall be administered by the department for the purposes of this section.  The fund shall consist of:

     (1)  Licensing and registration fees and charges collected by the department under section 149A-13(b);

     (2)  All fees collected by the department through the collection of training fees in accordance with subsection (c);

     (3)  Funds appropriated for the [pesticide] pest control subsidy program established under Act 105, Session Laws of Hawaii 2014; and

     (4)  All penalties and fines collected by the department under section 149A-41.

     (b)  Moneys in the [pesticide use] pest control revolving fund shall be expended by the department:

     (1)  To support the pesticide program's registration and licensing, certification and education, and compliance monitoring activities;

     (2)  To establish [pesticide] pest control training workshops and educational programs, including, but not limited to, eradication and control programs for pests designated in section 141-3, using the best available technology and best practices in a manner consistent with state and federal law;

     (3)  To develop integrated pest management strategies, the [pesticide] pest control subsidy program created under Act 105, Session Laws of Hawaii 2014, and other services for [pesticide] pest control users such as the agricultural pest control industry, the structural pest control industry, and consumer users of pesticides[,] and other pest control methods, which provide [pesticide] instruction in areas, including but not limited to the collection, disposal, and recycling of pesticide containers; and

     (4)  For all other [pesticide] pest control services deemed necessary by the department.

     Moneys from the revolving fund may be used for personnel, services, materials, and equipment for the purposes of this section.

     Moneys expended by the department from the [pesticide use] pest control revolving fund for training workshops, educational programs, and other services for the agricultural pest control industry, the structural pest control industry, and consumer groups shall be expended in a manner that appropriately addresses the needs of each category of [pesticide] pest control user.

     (c)  The department may set fees for the educational services and training provided under this section.

     (d)  All interest earned on the deposit or investment of the moneys in the fund shall become a part of the fund.

     (e)  All unobligated, unencumbered, or unexpended funds remaining in the fund in excess of $1,000,000 at the close of each fiscal year shall lapse to the state general fund.

     (f)  The department shall submit an annual report to the legislature on all moneys deposited into, and disbursed from, the [pesticide use] pest control revolving fund.  The report shall be submitted to the legislature not fewer than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session.  The report shall group all moneys deposited into, and disbursed from, the revolving fund according to the categories established in subsections (a) to (e)."

PART IV

     SECTION 4.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $           or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2022-2023 to be deposited into the pest control revolving fund.

     SECTION 5.  There is appropriated out of the pest control revolving fund the sum of $           or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2022-2023 for administering the pest control subsidy program.

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

PART V

     SECTION 6.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 7.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2022.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

 

 

Report Title:

HDOA; Pesticide Subsidy Program; Pest Control Subsidy Program; Pesticide Use Revolving Fund; Pest Control Revolving Fund; Appropriation

 

Description:

Amends the title and scope of the pesticide subsidy program and pesticide use revolving fund to include all pest control methods approved by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture.  Appropriates moneys into and out of the pest control revolving fund for administering the pest control subsidy program.

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.