S.B. 2988 Summary

• Appropriates funds to the Department of Agriculture for fiscal year 2022-2023 to mitigate and control two-lined spittlebug infestations and fund recovery efforts for affected lands (specific dollar amount not specified in bill text).

• Authorizes the Department of Agriculture to use insecticides, weed management, and pasture reseeding to reduce two-lined spittlebug populations and aid in recovery efforts.

• Requires the Department of Agriculture to submit a report to the legislature no later than twenty days before the 2023 regular session detailing expenditures, mitigation progress, and recommendations including any proposed legislation.

• Addresses the threat posed by the invasive two-lined spittlebug, which has infested over 278 square miles of land in Hawaii since its 2016 discovery and damages forage grasses critical to the state's livestock ranching industry valued at over $68 million annually.