STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2635

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2195

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Agriculture and Environment and Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 2195 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FOWL,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish a five-year pilot program within the Department of Health to eradicate feral chickens beginning in the Pearl City and Aiea areas of Oahu.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from seven individuals. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance, Department of Health, Department of Agriculture, Hawaiian Humane Society, and one member of the Waimanalo Neighborhood Board.

Your Committees find that feral chickens are a persistent nuisance and health risk throughout the State. Feral chickens trespass in yards and gardens, dig up plants, damage food crops, and jeopardize native plants. They also crow at all times of the day and night and create road hazards. This measure establishes a five-year pilot program for the eradication of feral chickens to promote a higher quality of life and greater safety for Hawaii's residents.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Expanding the pilot project to be Statewide;

(2) Requiring the Department of Agriculture to submit a Special Local Need registration to the Environmental Protection Agency for the use of OvoControl; and

(3) 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 Agriculture and Environment and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2195, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2195, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

________________________________ JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair

________________________________ MIKE GABBARD, Chair