Bill Text: HI HB2268 | 2022 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To Pesticides.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-28 - Referred to AGR, JHA, CPC, referral sheet 3 [HB2268 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2022-HB2268-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
2268 |
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THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to pesticides.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The
legislature finds that there are significant risks to public health and the
environment when pesticide use instructions are not followed properly,
including injury to non-target sensitive plants and species; drift harms to
nearby farms and gardens; health injuries to farmworkers and nearby residents;
and short- and long-term contamination of the State's soil, air, and water. Despite these risks, pesticide misuse has, and
continues to, occur within the State.
The legislature further finds
that in 2016 and 2017, a west Kauai agribusiness operation failed to adhere to
pesticide use instructions and improperly used the neurotoxin pesticide
chlorpyrifos, exposing farm workers to the dangerous pesticide and injuring
their health. Although investigation by
the United States Environmental Protection Agency initially proposed a
pesticide fine of $4,900,000, the fine was significantly reduced to around
$500,000. In 2018, a commercial
pesticide applicator was fined $168,535 for misusing different restricted use
pesticides on Kauai. In November 2019, an
agribusiness operation pled guilty and agreed to pay $10,000,000 as part of a
plea agreement with the United States Environmental Protection Agency for
illegally using the banned pesticide Penncap-M on Maui and Molokai.
The legislature additionally finds
that a study entitled "Pesticide Use by Large Agribusinesses on Kaua‘i", published in May 2016
by the independent Joint Fact Finding Study Group, points out the need for more
timely pesticide inspections and compliance investigations, as well as better reporting
on the results of pesticide inspections and investigations. According to the same study, the use of
drift-prone pesticides should be more strictly monitored through inspections,
and proven violators should be fined.
The legislature also finds that Act
45, Session Laws of Hawaii 2018, established additional requirements intended
to address pesticide abuse in Hawaii, including requiring all users of
restricted use pesticides to report on their use of restricted use pesticides
to the department of agriculture, prohibiting the use of a restricted use
pesticide on or within one hundred feet of a school property during normal
school hours, and prohibiting the use of pesticides containing chlorpyrifos as
an active ingredient. However, under existing
state law, commercial and private pesticide applicators who violate pesticide
regulations may receive a written warning upon their first offense, regardless
of whether the offense resulted in injury or illness. Enforcement of Hawaii's pesticide law, as well
as timely and routine inspections and compliance investigations of potential
misuse of pesticides, are crucial to protecting public health and ensuring
public confidence in the State's oversight of pesticide use.
Accordingly, the purpose of this
Act is to protect the State's residents and environment and ensure more
stringent enforcement of Hawaii's pesticide law by:
(1) Requiring
the department of agriculture to submit an annual report on pesticide
inspections and compliance investigations;
(2) For the first violation of the pesticide law by
commercial and private pesticide applicators, eliminating the written warning penalty
prior to imposition of stricter penalties; and
(3) Increasing
monetary fines for pesticide violations.
SECTION 2. Chapter 149A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§149A- Annual report. (a)
The department shall submit an annual report
to the legislature on the scope of pesticide inspections and compliance investigations
conducted during the prior year no later than twenty days prior to the convening
of each regular session, beginning with the regular session of 2022. The report shall be organized by county and shall
include, at a minimum, the following information:
(1) The number of complaints
received during the prior year, including a brief description of the nature and
location of each complaint;
(2) The number of compliance
investigations conducted during the prior year, including the time it took from
receipt of the complaint to the completion of the investigation, the department's
conclusion, and the type of enforcement action taken;
(3) The number of pesticide
inspections conducted during the prior year, including a brief description of the
nature and location of each inspection;
(4) The outcomes of
pesticide inspections conducted during the prior year, including any enforcement
actions taken; and
(5) The number and types
of violations found during the prior year, including the location of each pesticide
use violation and the pesticide active ingredient or product name involved in each
pesticide use violation.
(b) The report shall be made available to the public on the department's website."
SECTION 3. Section 149A-41, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (a) to (c) to read as follows:
"(a)
Warning notice. Any person who
violates this chapter or any rule issued under this chapter may upon the first
violation be issued a written warning notice citing the specific violation and
necessary corrective action[.]; provided that any person who violates
this chapter in a manner that causes bodily injury, as defined in section 707-700,
to another person shall be subject to the penalties under this section without first
being issued a warning notice.
(b)
Administrative penalties.
(1) In
general, any registrant, commercial applicator, wholesaler, dealer, retailer,
or other distributor who violates any provision of this chapter may be assessed
an administrative penalty by the board of not more than [$5,000] $10,000
for each offense;
(2) Any
private applicator or other person not included in paragraph (1) who violates
any provision of this chapter relating to the use of pesticides while on
property owned or rented by that person or the person's employer[,
subsequent to receiving a written warning from the department or following a
citation for a prior violation, may] shall be assessed an administrative
penalty by the board of not more than [$1,000] $5,000 for each
offense. Any private applicator or other
person not included in paragraph (1) who violates any provision of this chapter
relating to licensing, transport, sale, distribution, or application of a
pesticide for commercial purposes may be assessed an administrative penalty as
provided in paragraph (1);
(3) No
administrative penalty shall be assessed unless the person charged shall have
been given notice and an opportunity for a hearing on the specific charge in
the county of the residence of the person charged. The administrative penalty and any proposed
action contained in the notice of finding of violation shall become a final
order unless, within twenty days of receipt of the notice, the person or
persons charged make a written request for a hearing. In determining the amount of penalty, the
board shall consider the appropriateness of the penalty to the size of the
business of the person charged, the effect on the person's ability to continue business,
and the gravity of the violation; and
(4) In
case of inability to collect the administrative penalty or failure of any
person to pay all or such portion of the administrative penalty as the board
may determine, the board shall refer the matter to the attorney general, who
shall recover the amount by action in the appropriate court. For any judicial proceeding to recover the
administrative penalty imposed, the attorney general need only show that notice
was given, a hearing was held or the time granted for requesting a hearing has
expired without such a request, the administrative penalty was imposed, and
that the penalty remains unpaid.
(c)
Criminal penalties.
(1) In
general, any registrant, commercial applicator, wholesaler, dealer, retailer, or
other distributor who knowingly violates any provision of this chapter shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor and shall on conviction be fined not more than [$25,000,]
$50,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.
(2) Any
private applicator or other person not included in paragraph (1) who knowingly
violates any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and
shall on conviction be fined not more than [$1,000,] $5,000 or
imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.
(3) Any
person, who, with intent to defraud, uses or reveals information relative to
formulas of products acquired under the authority of section 3, Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended, shall be fined
not more than [$10,000,] $25,000 or imprisoned for not more than
three years, or both."
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. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2022.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Pesticides; Department of Agriculture; Report; Fines; Written Warning
Description:
Requires the department of agriculture to submit an annual report to the legislature on pesticide inspections and compliance investigations, including location, type, and enforcement action taken, conducted in the preceding year. For the first violation of the pesticide law by commercial and private pesticide applicators, eliminates the written warning penalty prior to imposition of stricter penalties. Increases monetary fines for pesticide violations.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
