HB299 appropriates general funds to support the Native Resources and Fire Protection Program and the Hawaii Invasive Species Council (HISC) for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027. The bill is framed as a response to Hawaii’s ongoing invasive species crisis and the need for long-term viability funding so the state can continue controlling and eradicating harmful pests and pathogens. The findings section emphasizes HISC’s statewide coordination role, its competitive grant program, and its support for partner organizations working on biosecurity, public awareness, and new response tools.
The bill also explains that HISC’s current annual funding allocation has remained flat for four years and is insufficient to meet demand, covering less than half of competitive grant requests. The legislature cites inflation, Hawaii’s high cost of doing business, and the need for competitive compensation to recruit and retain staff as reasons additional funding is needed. The measure would direct the Department of Land and Natural Resources to expend the appropriated sums for these purposes. The bill’s effective date is set to July 1, 3000, a placeholder date commonly used in draft legislation.
Impact
If enacted, HB299 would increase state support for invasive species prevention, containment, and eradication efforts by appropriating unspecified general funds to HISC and the Native Resources and Fire Protection Program for two fiscal years. It would not create a new regulatory scheme, but it would affect state budgeting and the operations of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, which would administer the funds. The bill would also indirectly support grant recipients, partner agencies, and organizations involved in Hawaii’s biosecurity network.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests broad support for the bill in committee, with both the Senate Agriculture and Environment Committee and the Senate Water and Land Committee passing it unanimously with amendments. The bill’s findings and purpose language are strongly affirmative, presenting the measure as necessary to maintain and strengthen Hawaii’s invasive species response capacity. No opposing testimony or committee debate is provided in the record, so the overall sentiment appears favorable and focused on urgency and program viability.
Contention
The main issue reflected in the bill text is not whether invasive species control is important, but whether current funding is adequate and how much additional general-fund support should be provided. The legislature highlights that existing allocations have not kept pace with inflation, staffing needs, and the volume of grant requests, implying concern about underfunding. Any contention would likely center on the size of the appropriation, the use of general revenues, and competing budget priorities, though no explicit opposition is shown in the provided materials.
A resolution to direct the Clerk of the House of Representatives to only present to the Governor enrolled House bills finally passed by both houses of the One Hundred Third Legislature.
Relating to nonsubstantive additions to, revisions of, and corrections in enacted codes, to the nonsubstantive codification or disposition of various laws omitted from enacted codes, and to conforming codifications enacted by the 88th Legislature to other Acts of that legislature.