Now that the deadline has passed for Gov. David Ige to issue his vetoes, it’s possible to give a final accounting of the environmental bills that made it through to acts in the 2019 legislative session.
Three of the bills that became law deal with invasive species.
Act 13 (Senate Bill 464) gives private property owners the right to cut down or trim albizia trees on adjoining vacant properties if a certified arborist has determined that the albizia pose a hazard to the owners’ health or property. Entry is authorized if the owners have “unsuccessfully made two or more reasonable attempts within the previous 30 days to contact the owner of record of the adjacent property via telephone or registered mail” and have provided written notice to the adjoining property owner.
“The unfortunate thing about the bill,” says Springer Kaye, manager of the Big Island Invasive Species Committee, “is that we really hoped it would help community/non-profit groups that are working together to treat dense stands of small, non-hazardous albizia on lots belonging to absentee landowners. The final language requires them to consult with a certified arborist to be protected under the law. Well, that introduces a few issues, including the cost of a highly certified expert, and the low chance that such an arborist is willing to risk incurring liability by assessing a job he or she is definitely not going to be hired for. Regardless, it is very nice to see the Legislature set expectations for a higher bar for personal responsibility in land management over private property rights.”
Act 197 (House Bill 201) clarifies that agents of the state or counties do have the right to enter private property to control invasive species, even if they don’t have proof that the species is actually there. Surveying for the presence of invasives had not been specifically called out in the law, even though it is a prerequisite to controlling any pest. The clarification could be important when attempting to eradicate species like little fire ant or diseases such as dengue (which requires controlling mosquito breeding sites). In each case, physical access is required to confirm that the species is present, even when common sense would indicate it was there, such as the presence of a little fire ant infestation on neighboring property.
Pamela Miedtke-Wolf, of Save an Animal, stated in her testimony, “DO NOT allow for someone to come onto private property, ever, without permission! EVER! Please do not take away my privacy nor my rights in allowing who comes onto MY land and when. … Are you kidding! Almost everything in Hawai`i is invasive! Humans being number one!”
Elaine Anderson, whose group KARES supports a feral cat colony at the Mauna Lani resort, said she was opposed to the bill “because it includes eradication of ‘invasive species,’ which includes feral cats, many of which have been humanely sterilized at the expense of several nonprofit animal welfare groups. There is no need for blatant eradication of these animals.”
A similar view was expressed by Cathy Goeggel of Animal Rights Hawai‘i . As a result, the House Committee on Agriculture and Environment included language that clarifies that the measure “is not intended to enable entry onto private property to eradicate non-prohibited pet animals.”
Act 147 (House Bill 1548) appropriates $750,000 to the Department of Land and Natural Resources for research, surveys, and outreach related to Rapid ‘Ohi‘a Death. When introduced, the bill sought an appropriation of $2 million for not just these three activities, but also for ungulate removal from fenced areas on Hawai‘i island and Kaua‘i, “to help reduce the wounding of healthy trees.”
Act 213 (House Bill 1261) makes permanent a law passed in 2016 that requires final decisions in contested case hearings that are appealed be heard directly by the state Supreme Court. This allows for expedited judicial review of contested case outcomes from the Land Use Commission, the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the Commission on Water Resource Management, the Hawai`i Community Development Authority, and the Public Utilities Commission.
Act 5 (House Bill 2), the state budget bill, also adds funds for invasive species control. The Department of Land and Natural Resources’ native resources and fire protection program received an additional $1 million in both fiscal years 2019-20 and 2020-21. Half of that is to go to the several invasive species committees. To control the little fire ant on Maui, the Legislature appropriated $61,200, and for control of coqui on Maui, it appropriated $83,000 in the current fiscal year and $63,000 in the next one. Nearly $600,000 over the two years was appropriated for biocontrol of four invasive plant species. For development of “landscape-scale mosquito control technology,” the appropriation was $100,000. In addition, the Big Island Invasive Species Committee received a grant-in-aid for $300,000, for mitigation of albizia on Kahakai Boulevard, a major road in the Puna District.
— Patricia Tummons
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