STAND. COM. REP. NO. 877

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 352

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 352, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO PESTICIDES,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require the Department of Agriculture to use consistent units of measurement in its summary to the public on restricted use pesticides applied; and

(2) Prohibit restricted use pesticides from being applied within one-half mile of schools during normal school hours or state or county public parks.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Office of the Mayor of the County of Maui, one member of the Kauaʻi County Council, Green Party of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action, Hawaii Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Hawaiʻi Children's Action Network Speaks!, Chamber of Sustainable Commerce, Hawaiʻi Food+ Policy, and sixty-seven individuals.

Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from Sugarland Farms, Inc.; Western Wood Preservers Institute; Hawaii Crop Improvement Association; Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau; Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii; and Molokai Chapter of the Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau.

Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Agriculture.

Your Committees find that analysis of restricted use pesticide data in the State has revealed that many communities are still heavily exposed to drift-prone pesticides. Research has shown that certain pesticides are known to drift over a mile and cause health impacts, such as bladder and colon cancers, Parkinson's disease, depression, and disruption to hormonal or endocrine systems. Your Committees further find that keiki are particularly vulnerable to pesticide exposure. This measure will protect the public from the neurological defects and acute health effects of pesticides.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 352, S.D. 1, and recommend that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means,

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair

________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair