STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2678

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2760

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Agriculture and Environment and Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 2760 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO INVASIVE SPECIES,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Clarify that the importation of any item or material infested or infected with an insect or other animal, disease, or pest is prohibited;

(2) Require the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to adopt rules to designate certain restricted articles to require a compliance agreement prior to importation;

(3) Clarify that the State is not responsible for any economic loss or damages related to any actions by the Department under chapter 150A, Hawaii Revised Statutes;

(4) Authorize the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to administratively inspect any article imported or moved into the State from the continental United States or between the islands of the State;

(5) Authorize the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to compel the quarantine of certain non-agricultural items or materials;

(6) Allow for certain interim rules adopted by the Department to be effective for up to two years;

(7) Clarify penalties for various quarantine and import law violations; and

(8) Appropriate funds to establish one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) position within the Department to assist the Plant Industry Division Administrator in drafting, reviewing, and updating certain administrative rules.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species, Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau, Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Food+ Policy, Hawaiʻi Forest Association, Free Access Coalition, and twelve individuals.

Your Committees received comments on this measure from one individual.

Your Committees find that invasive species have dramatically changed the State's environmental landscape, causing serious habitat degradation, extinction of native species, increased wildfire risk, increases in the cost of agriculture and livestock production and market opportunity exclusion, and many other negative and expensive consequences. Unfortunately, invasive species can be introduced through multiple pathways, particularly non-agricultural pathways, and addressing these pathways comprehensively is critical to reducing the burden placed on agricultural producers who must manage the downstream consequences of pest management. Your Committees further find that prevention at points of entry and early containment remain the most effective and cost-efficient tools available to limit environmental and agricultural damage. Therefore, this measure will align the State's commitment to biosecurity by enhancing the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity's authority to manage quarantines and enforcement mechanisms.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language to clarify that, any provision of the Hawaii Administrative Rules relating to clean air, shall be suspended to the extent necessary to permit biosecurity quarantine treatments;

(2) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; 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 Commerce and Consumer Protection that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2760, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2760, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committees on Ways and Means and Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Agriculture and Environment and Commerce and Consumer Protection,

________________________________ JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair

________________________________ MIKE GABBARD, Chair