HB1929 • 2026

RELATING TO BIOSECURITY.

Agriculture Budget

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: POEPOE, AMATO, CHUN, GRANDINETTI, HUSSEY, IWAMOTO, KAHALOA, KILA, KUSCH, MARTEN, MORIKAWA, PERRUSO, TAKENOUCHI
Last action: 2026-04-29
Official status: Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-30-26 9:30AM; Conference Room 325.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

RELATING TO BIOSECURITY.

What This Bill Does

RELATING TO BIOSECURITY.
DAB; Molokai; Biosecurity; Advisory Board; Quarantine Facility; Molokai Biosecurity Plan; Positions; Appropriations ($) Establishes a Molokai Biosecurity Advisory Board.
Requires the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, with the advice of the Advisory Board, to develop a Molokai Biosecurity Plan to prevent the spread of invasive species found elsewhere in the State to the island of Molokai.
Appropriates moneys.

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: HB1929 HD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB1929 HD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
1929 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO BIOSECURITY .

SD1

Hawaii published version SD1

Plain English: HB1929 SD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB1929 SD1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
1929 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII S.D.

SD2

Hawaii published version SD2

Plain English: HB1929 SD2 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.

HB1929 SD2 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B.
NO.
1929 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 H.D.
1 STATE OF HAWAII S.D.

Bill History

2026-04-29 S
Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-30-26 9:30AM; Conference Room 325.
2026-04-28 S
Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-29-26 9:30AM; Conference Room 325.
2026-04-24 S
Conference committee meeting to reconvene on 04-28-26 9:30AM; Conference Room 325.
2026-04-23 S
Conference committee meeting scheduled for 04-24-26 11:00AM; Conference Room 325.
2026-04-21 H
Received notice of Senate conferees (Sen. Com. No. 717).
2026-04-21 S
Senate Conferees Appointed: Gabbard Chair; DeCoite Co-Chair; Rhoads, Awa.
2026-04-20 S
Received notice of appointment of House conferees (Hse. Com. No. 786).
2026-04-20 H
House Conferees Appointed: Chun, Kusch Co-Chairs; Matsumoto.
2026-04-17 S
Received notice of disagreement (Hse. Com. No. 780).
2026-04-16 H
House disagrees with Senate amendment (s).
2026-04-14 H
Returned from Senate (Sen. Com. No. 642) in amended form (SD 2).
2026-04-14 S
Report adopted; Passed Third Reading, as amended (SD 2). Ayes, 25; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) DeCoite, Elefante, Fevella, Inouye, McKelvey, Richards, San Buenaventura, Wakai . Noes, 0 (none). Excused, 0 (none). Transmitted to House.
2026-04-10 S
48 Hrs. Notice 04-14-26.
2026-04-10 S
Reported from WAM (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3720) with recommendation of passage on Third Reading, as amended (SD 2).
2026-04-08 S
The committee(s) on WAM recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WAM were as follows: 13 Aye(s): Senator(s) Dela Cruz, Moriwaki, DeCoite, Elefante, Hashimoto, Inouye, Kanuha, Kidani, Kim, Lee, C., Richards, Wakai, Fevella; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.
2026-04-06 S
The committee(s) on WAM will hold a public decision making on 04-08-26 10:02AM; Conference Room 211 & Videoconference.
2026-03-24 S
Report adopted; Passed Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM.
2026-03-24 S
Reported from AEN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 3157) with recommendation of passage on Second Reading, as amended (SD 1) and referral to WAM.
2026-03-18 S
The committee(s) on AEN recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in AEN were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Gabbard, DeCoite, Rhoads, Awa; Aye(s) with reservations: Senator(s) Richards ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none.
2026-03-13 S
The committee(s) on AEN has scheduled a public hearing on 03-18-26 3:30PM; Conference Room 224 & Videoconference.
2026-03-10 S
Referred to AEN, WAM.
2026-03-10 S
Passed First Reading.
2026-03-10 S
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 169).
2026-03-06 H
Passed Third Reading with Representative(s) Iwamoto voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Perruso, Sayama excused (2). Transmitted to Senate.
2026-03-06 H
Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 923-26), recommending passage on Third Reading.
2026-03-03 H
The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, UNAMENDED. The votes were as follows: 16 Ayes: Representative(s) Todd, Takenouchi, Hartsfield, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lee, M., Miyake, Morikawa, Perruso, Templo, Yamashita, Alcos, Gedeon, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.
2026-02-27 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Tuesday, 03-03-26 2:00PM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-02-20 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Pierick voting no (1) and Representative(s) Quinlan excused (1).
2026-02-20 H
Reported from AGR (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 592-26) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to FIN.
2026-02-18 H
The committee on AGR recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 7 Ayes: Representative(s) Chun, Kusch, Kahaloa, Lowen, Perruso, Quinlan, Matsumoto; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.
2026-02-13 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by AGR on Wednesday, 02-18-26 9:30AM in House conference room 325 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2026-01-28 H
Referred to AGR, FIN, referral sheet 3
2026-01-26 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2026-01-23 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO BIOSECURITY.
DAB; Molokai; Biosecurity; Advisory Board; Quarantine Facility; Molokai Biosecurity Plan; Positions; Appropriations ($)
Establishes a Molokai Biosecurity Advisory Board. Requires the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, with the advice of the Advisory Board, to develop a Molokai Biosecurity Plan to prevent the spread of invasive species found elsewhere in the State to the island of Molokai. Appropriates moneys. Effective 7/1/2050. (SD2)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB1929

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1929

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to biosecurity
.

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

����
SECTION
1.
�
The legislature finds that Molokai
remains free from many invasive species that are present elsewhere in the
State, including but not limited to the coconut rhinoceros beetle, little fire
ant, coqui frog, fungi causing rapid
ʻ
ōhi
ʻ
a death, and
miconia.
�
Preventing the establishment of
these invasive species on Molokai is critical to protecting the island's
natural environment, agricultural economy, cultural resources, and community
well-being.

����
The
legislature further finds that in 2025, members of the Molokai community
petitioned the department of agriculture and biosecurity to adopt a temporary
rule prohibiting the movement of coconut rhinoceros beetle host materials and
other high-risk imported goods to Molokai in order to maximize prevention.

����
The
legislature also finds that in 2025, the coconut rhinoceros beetle was
introduced to Lāna
ʻ
i
in plants that were previously inspected by the department of agriculture and
biosecurity.
�
Fortunately, because
Lāna
ʻ
i has a
private quarantine facility, facility staff were able to detect and prevent the
beetle from being released into the environment, demonstrating that secondary
inspection of an interisland transport of plants or plant material upon arrival
is a critical component of an effective biosecurity system.

����
The
legislature finds that Molokai does not have a plant and plant material quarantine
or inspection facility and does not have any dedicated inspection staff located
on island, leaving Molokai extremely vulnerable to the introduction of invasive
species, despite the fact that Molokai is one of the most subsistence-committed
islands in the Hawaiian archipelago.

����
The
legislature further finds that, as an island state, Hawaii has the opportunity
to protect non-invaded islands from invasive species present in other areas of
the State and allow them to serve as living repositories for native species and
ecosystems being decimated elsewhere.

����
Accordingly,
the purpose of this Act is to strengthen biosecurity protections for Molokai by:

����
(1)
�
Requiring and appropriating funds for the
department of agriculture and biosecurity to develop a Molokai biosecurity plan
to prevent the spread of invasive species found elsewhere in the State to the
island of Molokai;

����
(2)
�
Authorizing the issuance of general obligation
bonds and appropriating funds for a new plant and plant materials quarantine
facility on the island of Molokai; and

����
(3)
�
Appropriating funds for staffing of the
Molokai plant and plant materials quarantine facility.

����
SECTION
2.
�
(a)
�

The department of agriculture and biosecurity shall develop a Molokai
biosecurity plan to prevent the spread of invasive species not currently
present on Molokai but present elsewhere in the State to the island of Molokai,
including but not limited to the coconut rhinoceros beetle, little fire ant,
coqui frog, fungi causing rapid
ʻ
ōhi
ʻ
a death, and miconia
.
�
The plan shall, at a minimum:

����
(1)
�
Address the movement of goods to the island of
Molokai, including high-risk commodities and pathways;

����
(2)
�
Establish inspection, quarantine, and
secondary screening processes upon the arrival of plants and plant materials to
the island of Molokai;

����
(3)
�
Establish reporting, detection, and response
protocols for suspected invasive species;

����
(4)
�
Provide policy recommendations to strengthen
biosecurity protections for the island of Molokai; and

����
(5)
�
Prioritize community and interagency
engagement.

����
(b)
�
The department of agriculture and biosecurity
shall present the plan to the board of agriculture and biosecurity for review
and adoption no later than July 1, 2027.

����
SECTION
3.
�
The director of finance is authorized
to issue general obligation bonds in the sum of $5,000,000 or so much thereof
as may be necessary and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary is
appropriated for fiscal year 2026-2027 for plans, design, construction, and
equipment and appurtenances for a plant and plant materials quarantine and
inspection facility on the island of Molokai.

����
The sum
appropriated shall be expended by the department of agriculture and biosecurity
for the purposes of this Act.

����
SECTION 4.
�
The appropriation made for the capital
improvement project authorized by this Act shall not lapse at the end of the
fiscal biennium for which the appropriation is made; provided that all moneys
from the appropriation unencumbered as of June 30, 2028, shall lapse as of that
date.

����
SECTION 5.
�
There is appropriated out of the general
revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $500,000 or so much thereof as may
be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the establishment of
full-time
equivalent ( FTE) positions to staff the plant and
plant materials quarantine and inspection facility and provide other
biosecurity support services on the island of Molokai.

����
The sum
appropriated shall be expended by the department of agriculture and biosecurity
for the purposes of this Act.

����
SECTION 6.
�
There is appropriated out of the general
revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $150,000 or so much thereof as may
be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the development of a Molokai
biosecurity plan pursuant to section 2 of this Act.

����
The sum
appropriated shall be expended by the department of agriculture and biosecurity
for the purposes of this Act.

����
SECTION 7.
�
This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2026.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Molokai;
Biosecurity; Quarantine Facility; Molokai Biosecurity Plan; DOAB; GO Bonds;
Appropriation

Description:

Requires and
appropriates funds for the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to develop
a Molokai Biosecurity Plan to prevent the spread of invasive species found
elsewhere in the State to the island of Molokai.
�
Authorizes the issuance of GO bonds and appropriates
funds for a plants and plant materials inspection and quarantine facility on
the island of Molokai and facility staffing.

The summary description
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not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.