SB139 authorizes the state’s invasive species council, counties, and their agents — including the University of Hawaii’s Hawaii Ant Lab and island-based invasive species committees — to create and run “community action programs” to control or eradicate invasive species identified by the council. The bill is aimed in particular at fast-spreading pests such as little fire ants, which the legislature says have expanded rapidly on Oahu and remain difficult to address with existing grant-funded staffing and resources.
Under the bill, these programs would use volunteers who live or work in infested areas to distribute or apply non-restricted use pesticides in a defined community or geographic area. The bill requires training, community outreach, supervision, label compliance, and delivery of full pesticide labels to property owners or occupiers. It also allows the programs to hire outreach personnel and to use volunteers whose employers agree to release them during work hours.
Impact
The bill would amend chapter 460J, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by adding a new statutory section authorizing community-based invasive species control programs and by updating the chapter’s exemptions to exclude participants in those programs from pest control operator requirements. It would also clarify that volunteers in these programs are not considered pest control operators, while preserving liability for acts outside authority or involving negligence, gross negligence, or intentional misconduct. In practical terms, the measure expands the operational tools available to state and county invasive species efforts and creates a legal framework for volunteer pesticide application in limited, supervised settings.
Sentiment
The overall sentiment reflected in the bill text is strongly supportive of a more aggressive, community-based response to invasive pests. The findings emphasize urgency, cost-effectiveness, and the need to supplement limited public and grant-funded resources with volunteer participation. No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no additional evidence of opposition or amendment debate in the available context.
Contention
The main policy issue is the use of volunteers to distribute or apply pesticides, which raises questions about training, supervision, public safety, and liability. The bill addresses those concerns by limiting the program to non-restricted use pesticides, requiring label compliance and training, and specifying that volunteers are not pest control operators. Another potential point of concern is the liability standard for employees, agents, and volunteers, which is narrowed to acts beyond authority or involving negligence, gross negligence, or intentional misconduct. No specific opposing viewpoints are documented in the provided materials.