HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	27
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

REQUESTING HAWAII'S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO PETITION THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TO ADDRESS THE LACK OF PARITY BETWEEN HAWAII AND OTHER STATES AND TERRITORIES PERTAINING TO THE EXPORT OF AGRICULTURAL GOODS.

WHEREAS, Hawaii is the only state in the nation that is regulated similarly to United States territories; and

WHEREAS, under title 7 Code of Federal Regulations part 318, the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture may prohibit or restrict the movement in interstate commerce of any plant or plant product from Hawaii and the territories to the continental United States to prevent the introduction of plant pests on the continent; and

WHEREAS, the Secretary of Agriculture has determined that it is necessary to prohibit the interstate movement of cut flowers, fruits, vegetables, and plants from Hawaii to the continental United States unless specifically allowed; and

WHEREAS, the list of specifically allowed fruits and vegetables is very limited; and

WHEREAS, for the State to add more agricultural commodities to the allowable list, it is required that a petition be submitted to the United States Department of Agriculture; and

WHEREAS, the petition requires a pest risk analysis be conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture; and

WHEREAS, a long-standing problem is that Hawaii waits in the same queue as foreign countries seeking to export products into the United States and the foreign countries' petitions are often deemed a higher priority and therefore expedited; and

WHEREAS, shipments of fruits and vegetables require quarantine treatment, inspection, and authorization by the United States Department of Agriculture; and

WHEREAS, the United States Department of Agriculture's quarantine requirements for agricultural commodities grown in Hawaii has severely limited the State's exports; and

WHEREAS, this constraint has seriously impacted Hawaii's agricultural sector as the State's growers must wait years, if not decades, for the United States Department of Agriculture's authorization; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, the Senate concurring, that Hawaii's congressional delegation is requested to petition the United States Department of Agriculture to address the lack of parity between Hawaii and other states and territories pertaining to the export of agricultural goods; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation and Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture.

Report Title:

USDA; HDOA; Exports; Quarantine; Restrictions