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Hawaii lawmakers are advancing a package of changes aimed at tightening enforcement of the state’s invasive-species inspection rules, after testimony at a legislative hearing raised questions about whether the agriculture department has been applying its mandate consistently at the border. Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, who introduced the bill, said the dispute is not about whether Hawaii needs stronger protections, but about whether the state is effectively preventing pest-infested cargo from arriving.
Keohokalole’s concerns focus on how inspectors handle shipments that contain pests. He questioned whether products are allowed to enter the state when they have only “just a few grubs,” arguing that small infestations have still led to major problems in the past, including the introduction of coconut rhinoceros beetles on islands such as Kona and ongoing losses of coconut trees on Kauaʻi. Keohokalole also asked for answers about how long the department has allegedly been ignoring parts of the statutory framework that were written decades ago.
At the February hearing, Keohokalole pressed on testimony from Jonathan Ho, the plant quarantine branch manager, who told lawmakers that department staff have been “trusted to let ‘lightly infested’ goods into the state without treatment.” Keohokalole said that approach conflicts with the current law as he described it, which he said limits inspector discretion to deciding whether infested material should be destroyed or sent back, while also noting that the agency can technically treat incoming goods but lacks the facilities to do so.
Keohokalole asked Ho directly whether the department’s existing policy is to violate its mandate, and Ho responded that “That’s the policy we’ve always used.” Keohokalole then sent a letter to the department to seek documents related to what he called “shadow policy,” according to the reporting, and he raised concerns that staff may have been trained for years to apply the mandate in a way that he said favors the nursery sector and the broader agricultural industry the agency regulates.
In response to Keohokalole’s document request, the department partially provided relevant materials, but it did not supply training manuals and documents that would outline what it described as internal operational procedures and threat determinations, the reporting said. Keohokalole’s account of the dispute sets up the legislative push for Senate Bill 2760, which lawmakers say is intended to close regulatory gaps and make enforcement more explicit, including by adding penalties for violations.
Department Director Sharon Hurd submitted six pages of testimony on the bill and also wrote to address the characterization raised by the lawmaker, according to the reporting. Hurd “respectfully disagrees with the characterization that its practices constitute a violation of statute,” her letter said, even as the testimony raised suggested changes that lawmakers said they found notable given the bill’s goal of fixing shortcomings the department has identified in recent years.
Ho, who also spoke outside the legislative hearing context in the reporting, said the department does not contest that Hawaii needs better protections but described an approach that weighs different pests differently. He said inspectors might ignore shipments if lower-risk species such as aphids show up, but he said the discretion comes into play for higher-concern pests such as “a brown tree snake or red imported fire ants.” Ho also said the discretion is informed by the International Plant Protection Convention and other national standards and laws, including references described in the reporting to the U.S. Commerce Clause and concerns that interstate business should not be “overburdened by state laws.”
Lawmakers and advocates have said the issue has been under scrutiny for more than a decade, with newer urgency tied to rapid spread of pests including coconut rhinoceros beetles and little fire ants. The reporting described additional prior criticism of how the department has handled restrictions involving interisland plant trade, after the agency walked back proposed limitations following concerns raised by nursery industry representatives.
Senate Bill 2760 would make the biggest change by expanding the department’s authority to inspect non-agricultural goods coming into Hawaii, such as building materials and vehicles. The bill’s supporters, the reporting said, argue that expanding the inspection perimeter could help prevent new species from arriving via everyday routes such as ship ballast water or equipment like vehicle tires, which can move between locations and carry pests.
Ho told lawmakers that after staffing losses during the recession era, the department is now only regaining levels it had before the mass layoffs of 2008 and 2009, according to the reporting. He said the department can currently inspect only a limited share of inbound agricultural goods and that only a very small fraction of inspected lots are rejected or destroyed, citing a state report. At the same time, Ho said he agrees there needs to be a comprehensive review of authorities and guiding statutes, and he suggested that the department should bring recommendations back for lawmakers to consider.
The reporting also quoted former state agriculture director Scott Enright, who said that discretion at the border can be necessary during periods of limited resources and staff, and who pointed to a 2017 state audit that found the department’s pest control efforts were inconsistent and that staff lacked clear guidance. Enright added that the underfunded system and the use of discretion seemed to lead staff to “play favorites,” particularly with the nursery industry.
Keohokalole said the hearing exposed what he called conflicting mandates inside the department, and he argued that the legislature needs a culture shift so the agency enforces the risk-based protections the state is supposed to provide. As the bill moves forward, the central question remains whether inspectors can continue to allow “lightly infested” goods to pass or whether Senate Bill 2760 will tighten the line—paired with expanded inspection authority and penalties—so more potentially harmful cargo is treated before it reaches Hawaii’s ecosystems.