STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3953

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: GOV. MSG. NO. 645

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2024

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Agriculture and Environment, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 645, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of:

Advisory Committee on Pesticides

G.M. No. 645

MELVIN TOKUDA, for a term to expire 06-30-2027,

begs leave to report as follows:

Your Committee reviewed the personal history, resume, and statement submitted by Melvin Tokuda for service on the Advisory Committee on Pesticides.

Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination for the appointment of Melvin Tokuda from the Department of Agriculture and Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau.

Upon review of the testimony, your Committee finds that Mr. Tokuda's background, experience, and desire to serve his community qualify him for appointment to the Advisory Committee on Pesticides as a representative of the Department of Health pursuant to section 149A-51, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Your Committee notes that Mr. Tokuda earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and has been on staff at the Department of Health as an Environmental Health Specialist in the Safe Drinking Water Branch since February 2008. Prior to that, he was a Pesticide Specialist at the Department of Agriculture for over sixteen years. Your Committee further notes that through these positions, Mr. Tokuda is well-versed in federal and state rules relating to the distribution of safe drinking water and the manufacturing, distribution, and use of pesticides, and that his expertise will help the Advisory Committee on Pesticides fulfill its duties to advise and assist the Department of Agriculture in pesticide problems and in developing and revising laws and rules to enforce Hawaii's Pesticides Law. Your Committee therefore recommends that Melvin Tokuda be appointed to the Advisory Committee on Pesticide based on his experience, knowledge, and desire to serve the public.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Agriculture and Environment that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Agriculture and Environment,

____________________________

MIKE GABBARD, Chair