Bill Text: HI SCR215 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: DOA; Reduction in Force; Economic and Environmental Impacts; Study

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-03-15 - (S) Referred to WTL, WAM. [SCR215 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2010-SCR215-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	215
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting a study on the economic and environmental impacts on businesses and communities as a result of the reduction in services provided by the department of agriculture's plant quarantine branch and commodities branch statewide.

 

 

     WHEREAS, in August and September 2009, a Senate Ad Hoc Committee conducted five informational briefings to gather information on the potential impacts of the anticipated reduction in services for the Department of Agriculture's Plant Quarantine Branch and Commodities Branch throughout the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, nearly ninety per cent of Hawaii's consumer goods are imported and ships alone bring in 500,000 sea containers carrying 25,000,000 cartons – inspectors at harbors and airports are the first line of defense in stopping invasive species; and

 

     WHEREAS, in addition, the export value of agricultural products is in excess of $160,000,000 and the scheduled layoffs will have a severe impact on Hawaii businesses due to the resulting reduction in exports; and

 

WHEREAS, California already imposes strict guidelines for the importation of Hawaii's agricultural products and any decline in meeting those requirements may result in an embargo by California; and

 

     WHEREAS, small businesses in particular are vulnerable, as any additional difficulty in achieving nursery certifications has a proportionately larger financial impact on smaller operations; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Plant Quarantine Branch's Biosecurity Program is responsible for controlling the introduction and interisland spread of invasive species in Hawaii; and

 

WHEREAS, initially, the Plant Quarantine Branch listed seventy-two general funded positions and forty special funded positions, with fifty-two of the general funded positions scheduled for layoffs, and as a result of the briefings and increased community attention, on September 24, 2009, the Department of Agriculture announced temporary restoration of twenty-two of the Plant Quarantine Inspector positions slated for layoffs to support core inspection services at ports statewide; and

 

     WHEREAS, the $1,800,000 funding for the twenty-two positions includes $600,000 earmarked for the Hawaii Invasive Species Council and $1,200,000 from fees collected in the pest inspection, quarantine, and eradication fund, which comes from maritime and airline companies that bring in cargo to Hawaii and pay 50 cents per 1,000 pounds of cargo for inspection, quarantine, and eradication of invasive species that may be transported into the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department's Commodities Branch provides fee-for-service certification and auditing; enforces laws regarding the quality and condition of agricultural products; issues licenses for dealers in farm produce; conducts feed registration, sampling, and enforcement for label guarantees; and administers the milk control section; and

 

WHEREAS, the Branch is also responsible for seafood inspections, seed certification, federal-state certification of eggs, and food safety; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Commodities Branch is projected to lose fifty per cent of its full time staff, and on Hawaii island, the layoffs will directly impact the papaya and coffee industries and increase certification times from days to weeks; statewide, over 1,800,000 pounds of papaya were checked and over 6,300,000 pounds of coffee certified in fiscal year 2009; and

 

     WHEREAS, agriculture is a $4,720,000,000 industry in Hawaii and accounts for 38,000 jobs or five per cent of the statewide total, and the proposed layoffs affect not only growers, but have a substantial "trickle down" effect on other related industries, such as packaging and fertilizer producers; and

 

     WHEREAS, larger agribusinesses may be able to pay for private inspectors, small farmers will not be able to afford this alternative; and

 

     WHEREAS, aquaculture is one of the fastest growing industry segments – valued at $34,700,000 in 2008 – and cuts in inspector services will impact both imports and exports; and

 

     WHEREAS, seafood inspections account for nearly the same volume as florals, and play a vital role in the stability of the restaurant industry; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii's seed industry – valued at $250,000,000 in annual spending and currently the leading commodity in the agricultural industry – faces a possible shutdown if inspectors are not available to process research imports and exports; and

 

     WHEREAS, invasive pests can cause millions of dollars in crop losses, the extinction of native species, the destruction of native forests, the spread of diseases, and the quarantine of exported agricultural crops; and

 

     WHEREAS, Plant Quarantine Inspectors must be able to identify over 150 prohibited animals, 1,800 restricted animals, 1,800 conditionally approved fish, 600 general and nearly 22,000 species of grasses, as well as 100,000 hybrids of orchids that require quarantine, and inspectors need a relevant academic degree and three years of training, and currently, all branch staff require overtime to meet inspection needs; and

 

     WHEREAS, the projected cuts will reduce the staff by nearly half, making adequate inspection impossible, and the loss of these services will have a detrimental economic and environmental ripple effect for businesses and communities throughout the State; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Office of the Auditor is requested to conduct a study on the economic and environmental impacts on businesses and communities as a result of the reduction of services for the Department of Agriculture's Plant Quarantine Branch and Commodities Branch statewide; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to analyze the environmental impacts, including:

 

     (1)  The number and types of inspections, certification and auditing, registration and enforcement, and other services directly affected by the layoffs;

 

     (2)  The adequacy of the workforce prior to the current reductions;

 

     (3)  The shortage of entomologists on each island, and the impacts on timely responses;

 

     (4)  A review of the pest inspection, quarantine, and eradication fund and compliance by cargo carriers that are required to pay into the fund;

 

     (5)  A review of the impact of using $600,000 earmarked for the Hawaii invasive species council to fund inspector services, particularly the consequences for "on the ground" eradication and management programs of invasive species; and

 

     (6)  Other environmental impacts, particularly on communities and businesses that previously relied on these services; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to analyze the economic impacts, including:

 

     (1)  The estimated annual dollar value of the loss to businesses and other entities;

 

     (2)  The estimated dollar value of the impact on other businesses and other providers of secondary goods and services;

 

     (3)  Other economic impacts, such as higher unemployment and reduced levels of services;

 

     (4)  The impact on smaller areas, such as Kauai where the Department is scheduled to lose the only office person, leaving farmers without a point of contact in order to schedule and coordinate inspections and other services and obtain information;

 

     (5)  Layoffs of Aquaculture Branch staff, and the resulting impacts on the industry; and

 

     (6)  Other financial impacts, particularly on communities and businesses that previously relied on these services; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to consult with, at minimum, the Department of Agriculture; the Hawaii Invasive Species Council; the counties, and other government and private sector agencies as deemed appropriate by the Auditor, and legislators; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor shall submit a study of its findings to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2011; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture, the Auditor, each county Mayor, and the Hawaii Invasive Species Council Coordinator.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

DOA; Reduction in Force; Economic and Environmental Impacts; Study