Bill Text: HI HB2529 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating To Health.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-29 - Referred to EEP/AGR, CPC, FIN, referral sheet 9 [HB2529 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2018-HB2529-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2529
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO HEALTH.

 

 

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

 

SECTION 1.  Moneys in the pesticide use revolving fund are required to be expended by the department of agriculture to support, among other things, the pesticide program's registration and licensing, certification and education, and compliance monitoring activities.  Increasing the funds in the pesticide use revolving fund will allow the department of agriculture to have a greater amount of dedicated funding for the State's efforts in providing pesticide regulation with informed and educated studies.

The number of large-scale, outdoor commercial agricultural operations in Hawaii has been increasing.  Unlike the majority of Hawaii's farmers, these operations regularly release high volumes of restricted use pesticides into the environment.  The United States Environmental Protection Agency classifies pesticides as restricted use pesticides if they are determined to cause "unreasonable adverse effects on the environment" when used "without additional regulatory restrictions."  Information pertaining to the intensive use of pesticides in large-scale commercial agriculture within the State is not readily available to the public.

Therefore, the purpose of this Act is to increase the pesticide use revolving fund moneys in order to allow the department of agriculture to have the necessary funds available to carry out its statutory mandate and to protect the State's environment and residents from the unintended impacts of large-scale pesticide use by implementing the recommendation of the JFF Study Group's report that the good neighbor program be revised and expanded.  Specifically, this Act implements the JFF Study Group's recommendation by making the reporting guidelines of the Kauai agricultural good neighbor program mandatory for large-scale, outdoor commercial agricultural operations across the State.

SECTION 2.  Chapter 149A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new part to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Part    .  PESTICIDE MANDATORY DISCLOSURE

§149A-A  Definitions.  As used in this part:

"Commercial agricultural entity" means any individual, partnership, association, corporation, limited liability company, or organized group of persons, regardless of whether incorporated, that is engaged in commercial agricultural production.

"Commercial agricultural production" means:

(1)  Commercial production of any seed, crop, plant, timber, livestock, poultry, fish, bees, or apiary products; or

(2)  Testing or experimental production of any seed, crop, plant, timber, livestock, poultry, fish, bees, or apiary products.

"Commercial agricultural production area" means real properties and areas owned, leased, or otherwise operated or controlled and used by a commercial agricultural entity for commercial agricultural production.

"Experimental use pesticide" means a pesticide whose use is authorized by an experimental use permit by either the United States Environmental Protection Agency or the department.

§149A-B  Mandatory disclosure of commercial agricultural pesticide use.  Effective one year following the effective date of Act    , Session Laws of Hawaii 2018, any commercial agricultural entity that annually purchases or uses in excess of      pounds or      gallons of non-diluted restricted use pesticides during the prior calendar year shall disclose the use of all pesticides, including restricted use, general use, and experimental use pesticides.  No later than sixty days following the end of each calendar year, each commercial agricultural entity subject to this section shall provide to the department annual reports of all pesticides used in outdoor applications during the preceding calendar year.  The annual reports shall comply with section 149A-C and shall be deemed public records and posted online on the department's website.

§149A-C  Public reports; contents.  The department shall adopt rules, pursuant to chapter 91, requiring that public annual reports required under section 149A-B include the following information:

(1)  A listing of all pesticides used in outdoor applications, by federal and state registrations or permit numbers, commercial product names, and active ingredients;

(2)  The total quantities used for each pesticide; and

(3)  A general description of the geographic location, including, at a minimum, the tax map key number, in which the pesticides were used.

§149A-D  Rules.  The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to implement this part; provided that the department may not establish exemptions not expressly authorized in this part."

SECTION 3.  Section 149A-13.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1.   By amending subsection (b) to read:

"(b)  Moneys in the pesticide use revolving fund shall be expended by the department to support the pesticide program's registration and licensing, certification and education, and compliance monitoring activities.  The department shall also expend revolving fund moneys on the establishment of pesticide training workshops, educational programs, development of integrated pest management strategies, the pesticide subsidy program created under Act 105, Session Laws of Hawaii 2014, and other services for pesticide users such as the agricultural pest control industry, the structural pest control industry, and consumer users of pesticides, which provide pesticide instruction in areas including but not limited to the collection, disposal, and recycling of pesticide containers; clinical studies on pesticides; and all other pesticide services deemed necessary by the department.  Moneys from the revolving fund may be used for personnel, services, materials, and equipment for the purposes of this section[; provided that the use of moneys from the revolving fund for personnel costs shall be limited to those employees under the registration and education section of the department's pesticides branch].

Moneys expended by the department from the pesticide use revolving fund for training workshops, educational programs, and other services for the agricultural pest control industry, the structural pest control industry, and consumer groups shall be expended in a manner that appropriately addresses the needs of each category of pesticide user."

2.   By amending subsection (e) to read:

"(e)  All unobligated, unencumbered, or unexpended funds remaining in the fund in excess of [$250,000] $         at the close of each fiscal year shall lapse to the state general fund."

SECTION 4.  This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 5.  If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are severable.

SECTION 6.  The revisor of statutes shall insert the effective date of this Act in the appropriate location in section 2 of this Act.

SECTION 7.  In codifying the new sections added by section 2 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.

SECTION 8.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 9.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

 

Report Title:

Mandatory Pesticide Disclosure; Pesticide Use Revolving Fund

 

Description:

Requires disclosure of commercial agriculture pesticide use under specified conditions.  Revises the ceiling and use of the Pesticide Use Revolving Fund.

 

 

 

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