HB1013 Summary

• Restructures the Hawaii Invasive Species Council into the Hawaii Invasive Species Authority, administratively attached to the Department of Agriculture, to coordinate statewide invasive species prevention, detection, and control efforts.

• Establishes a 9-member board of directors composed of heads of state agencies (University of Hawaii, Health, Transportation, Business/Economic Development/Tourism, Agriculture, and Land and Natural Resources) plus three governor-appointed members representing conservation, agriculture/horticulture, and Native Hawaiian cultural practices.

• Authorizes the authority to hire staff including an executive director without regard to civil service requirements, and grants authority to adopt rules, maintain invasive species data, coordinate emergency responses, and implement the Hawaii Interagency Biosecurity Plan.

• Grants authority and lead agencies power to enter private property with notice to control or eradicate invasive species, with ability to obtain court orders and recover expenses from non-compliant property owners.

• Appropriates $500,000 annually for fiscal years 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 for authority operations, and $10,000,000 annually for interagency invasive species projects and research.