Report Title:

Fruit Fly Eradication Program; Interim Funding; Appropriation

Description:

Appropriates interim funding for the fruit fly eradication program. (HB2767 HD1)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2767

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2006

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to agriculture.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Without a doubt, fruit flies are Hawaii's most destructive agricultural pests. The economic impact of fruit fly infestation in Hawaii is severe, leading to millions of dollars in lost agricultural production. There are several different types of fruit flies in Hawaii, and each one's introduction occurred in different years. The first fruit fly arrived in 1895 and the last in 1983. Since they have no natural enemies in Hawaii, their existence has persisted over the years.

Due to the fruit fly's danger to agriculture in the continental United States and other parts of the world, Hawaii has been under fruit fly quarantine for over seventy years. And although locally grown produce may be treated, the decontamination process is expensive.

Since the threat of spreading fruit flies to the continental United States is so serious, the federal government established the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Bureau of Entomology in Hawaii (Bureau) in 1912 to conduct long-term research on fruit flies. Nearly all of the measures used to control the spread of fruit flies have been developed by the Bureau in Hawaii.

In 1999, the USDA Agriculture Research Service (ARS) funded a five-year, area-wide fruit fly pest management system with the goal "to develop and implement environmentally acceptable, biologically based, sustainable pest management strategies that reduce use of the organophosphate and carbamate insecticides while suppressing fruit flies to economically manageable levels for the benefit of Hawaii." This program, a cooperative partnership with ARS, the University of Hawaii college of tropical agriculture and human resources (CTAHR), and the department of agriculture (DOA), was implemented in large targeted areas on the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, and Maui. A "1-2-3 procedure" was used to sanitize, annihilate males, and kill both male and female fruit flies. The program was a success in suppressing the fruit fly damage and has demonstrated a true collaboration between public agencies, the University of Hawaii, and farmers.

The fight against the fruit fly infestation, however, is not over. The success of the program has raised the question of whether fruit flies can be eradicated in not only large areas of an island but from the entire state. Thus, a follow-up program has been proposed as a joint effort by the ARS; CTAHR; DOA; University of Hawaii center for genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics research initiative; and the Maui high performance computing center. The research development team will keep its focus on the practical goal of large-scale fruit fly suppression and potential eradication.

This proposed project will request funding through a $5,000,000 federal appropriation. However, if the appropriation is approved, the money will not be available until the middle of 2007, and many preliminary tasks like planning the project and gathering data for the federal proposal need to start this year. Thus, the legislature finds that interim funding for the program is needed to get the project started and also to demonstrate to the federal agency that the State is committed to seeing the fruit fly eradicated in Hawaii.

The purpose of this Act is to provide interim funding to begin the eradication of fruit flies from Hawaii.

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $250,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2006-2007 to provide interim funding for the fruit fly eradication program. The moneys shall be used to:

(1) Provide preliminary data to be included in the federal proposal;

(2) Demonstrate to the federal agency that the State of Hawaii is dedicated to seeing the fruit fly eradicated in Hawaii; and

(3) Preliminarily plan and organize the eradication program.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the University of Hawaii for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2006.