Bill Text: HI HCR119 | 2021 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Urging The Department Of Agriculture, Department Of Health, Department Of Land And Natural Resources, And University Of Hawaii To Develop And Implement A Mosquito Control Program That Uses Wolbachia Bacteria To Reduce Mosquito Population Levels Throughout The State.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2021-04-13 - Report adopted, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. [HCR119 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2021-HCR119-Amended.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	119
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		S.D. 1

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES, AND UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A MOSQUITO CONTROL PROGRAM THAT USES WOLBACHIA BACTERIA TO REDUCE MOSQUITO POPULATION LEVELS THROUGHOUT THE STATE.

 

 

     WHEREAS, the control of non-native mosquito populations throughout the State is urgently necessary to protect the health and well-being of the State's residents and wildlife; and

 

     WHEREAS, mosquito-borne diseases, including the Zika virus, West Nile virus, Chikungunya virus, dengue, and avian malaria, are spread through the bite of an infected mosquito; and

 

     WHEREAS, more species of native birds have gone extinct in Hawaii than anywhere else in the world; nine unique bird species have disappeared from Hawaii since the 1980s; and

 

     WHEREAS, virtually every individual native forest bird or passerine living below 4,000 feet, or 1,200 meters, in elevation has been eliminated due to avian malaria; and

 

     WHEREAS, between 2013 and November 2, 2020, the Department of Health confirmed twenty-six cases of the Zika virus, thirty-six cases of the Chikungunya virus, and three hundred sixty cases of dengue in the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to a Department of Agriculture report submitted to the Legislature on December 26, 2019, as required by Act 106, Session Laws of Hawaii 2019, mosquitoes in Hawaii also pose a significant threat to Hawaii's native wildlife, especially native birds; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii's mountaintop forests serve as a refuge for native birds escaping from mosquitoes that carry avian malaria; and

 

     WHEREAS, however, climate change has raised temperatures in Hawaii's mountaintop forests, resulting in mosquitoes moving toward the mountains' respective summits, thereby threatening the only disease-free refuge for native birds; and

 

     WHEREAS, the birds of the Hawaiian Islands are a unique biological resource and a critical component of Hawaiian culture, warranting conservation and protection; and

 

     WHEREAS, various federal and state agencies, including the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, National Parks Service, Department of Agriculture, Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Health, and University of Hawaii have made significant efforts to suppress mosquito populations; and

 

     WHEREAS, these efforts include the development of Wolbachia-infected mosquito lineages, application of chemical adulticides and larvicides, reduction of mosquito habitats, and distribution of materials to educate the public about mosquito control and bite prevention; and

 

     WHEREAS, Wolbachia is a naturally occurring bacteria that is present in fifteen to seventy percent of all insects and is already present in insect species statewide; and

 

     WHEREAS, introducing the Wolbachia bacteria, which is safe to humans and the environment, into mosquito populations throughout the State would help to reduce mosquito populations, thereby lowering the rate of mosquito-borne diseases in humans and wildlife; and

 

     WHEREAS, because male mosquitoes infected with certain Wolbachia bacteria are unable to produce offspring with wild female mosquitoes that are either not infected with any Wolbachia bacteria or are infected with a different Wolbachia bacteria than the male mosquito, Wolbachia bacteria may also be used to suppress mosquito populations; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Agriculture, Department of Health, Department of Land and Natural Resources, and University of Hawaii are urged to develop and implement a mosquito control program that uses Wolbachia bacteria to reduce mosquito population levels throughout the State; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture, Director of Health, Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, and President of the University of Hawaii System.

Report Title:

Department of Agriculture; Department of Health; Department of Land and Natural Resources; Wolbachia; Mosquito Control Program