HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2542

TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to the auditor.

 

 

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

 


     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that invasive species arrive at United States ports of entry every day, hidden in the wooden crates, pallets, and shipping containers used to transport agricultural cargo, or concealed in the imported goods themselves.  Failure to detect and intercept these invasive species imposes serious economic and social costs on all Americans.

     The United States Department of Agriculture has stated that foreign pests and disease already cost the United States economy tens of billions of dollars annually in lower crop values, eradication programs, emergency payments to farmers, and increased costs for food and other natural resources.

     In light of the current and potential staggering economic costs of invasive species, which fall on businesses, taxpayers, and local governments that have no way to avoid the harm, it is critical to focus on prevention, specifically improving  agricultural import and entry processes.

     Economic costs are just one aspect of the severe consequences that can result from foreign pests and disease slipping through our ports.  In Hawaii, which is home to more endangered species per square mile than any other area on the planet, invasive species and disease could permanently devastate our fragile ecosystem.  Hawaii is ranked highest among the fifty states in risk to biodiversity of plants, mammals, birds, and reptiles.  Over one hundred species of native plants, ninety per cent of seven hundred fifty species of terrestrial snails and seventy-one of at least one hundred thirteen bird species have already been lost to extinction.  While Hawaii accounts for only 0.2 per cent of the landmass of the United States, Hawaii is home to thirty-eight per cent of the nation's threatened and endangered plants and forty-one per cent of the nation's endangered birds.  For the majority of these extinct and endangered species, invasive species are a primary contributor to their decline.

     During the attempt to expand Kahului airport in 1998, the federal Departments of Agriculture, Transportation, and Interior joined the state departments of agriculture, land and natural resources, and health, in signing a memorandum of understanding that recognized that the oceanic island ecosystems in general, and the Hawaiian islands and Maui in particular, are highly susceptible to damage from alien invasive species, including damage to the natural, agricultural, and human assets.

     The record of decision for Kahului airport stated that there are serious concerns about the airport as an entry point for alien invasive species.  Further, because the introduction of alien invasive species poses serious problems to the State's ecosystem, any introduction of alien invasive species via the airport or any other entry points may lead to significant cumulative impacts.  As a result, federal and state agencies cooperatively devised the alien species action plan to further minimize the chance of alien species introductions via aircraft arriving at Kahului airport.  The Federal Aviation Administration made the requirement of the biological opinion and the alien species action plan conditions of its approval.

     In similar fashion, in 2004, the Hawaii Superferry signed an agreement to buy two nine-hundred-passenger, two-hundred-eighty-vehicle vessels, only to go bankrupt in 2009, because of costly environmental litigation.

     Hawaii is now the center of the United States military's strategic rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region.  When military movements are completed, sixty per cent of the United States Navy's fleet will be in the Pacific-Indian Ocean area.  However, the rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region not only has a military component, it is also a whole-of-government approach.  It entails strengthening alliances and partnerships and building an economic infrastructure.  The Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement has been signed and is expected to cover forty per cent of world gross domestic product and nearly a third of world exports.  Hawaii must be ready for this strategic pivot that is expected to shape the global order in coming decades.

     The Hawaii biosecurity system, which was based on the alien species action plan, and improved through consultation with the agricultural, environmental, and transportation sectors, was moving rapidly towards completion.  However, the current administration has continued to undermine Hawaii's quarantine system, creating more gaps in our battle to prevent the introduction of invasive pest species.  Inspectors are inspecting less imported cargo at the ports, and their insect and disease interception rates have dropped drastically from the 3,416 interceptions in fiscal year 2013 to the 1,034 interceptions in fiscal year 2015.  There is visible frustration with the administration's lack of transparency in failing to provide annual reports required by law for the last two years and increased concerns from members of the agricultural and environmental communities, and the public at-large, regarding the lack of progress in continuing the implementation of the biosecurity program.

     Nationally, the United States Department of Transportation has shown leadership in initiating various measures to prevent the spread of invasive species.  For example, the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study identifies options to prevent and control the spread of aquatic nuisance species among waterways and river basins on the continental United States.  The federal Department of Transportation is also exploring methods to facilitate practical and effective ballast water treatment technology and provide data for informed decisions for the appropriate ballast water discharge standards.  Similarly, Hawaii's legislature established biosecurity as a priority for the airport and harbor modernization projects.

     The legislature finds that the transfer of the plant quarantine branch of the department of agriculture to the department of transportation will facilitate more effective inspections at ports and transitional facilities under the authority of the department of transportation.  The legislature believes that such an organizational shift will enhance the State's efforts to ensure biosecurity and reduce the introduction of invasive species while balancing the efficiencies of the transportation network.

     Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to require the auditor to conduct an audit of the plant quarantine branch of the department of agriculture to facilitate its transfer from the department of agriculture to the department of transportation.

     SECTION 2.  The auditor shall conduct a financial and performance audit of the duties and facilities of the plant quarantine branch of the department of agriculture, including the branch's biosecurity program and related programs, to facilitate the transfer of the branch from the department of agriculture to the department of transportation and to reestablish the branch as a division within the department of transportation to regulate the transportation modes and impose adequate quarantine and biosecurity measures at ports of entry by January 1, 2018.

     The auditor shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the governor and the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2017.

     SECTION 3.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

 

 


 


 

Report Title:

Auditor; DOA; Plant Quarantine Branch; DOT; Audit

 

Description:

Directs the auditor to audit the plant quarantine branch of DOA to facilitate its transfer to DOT.

 

 

 

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