S.C.R. No. 172 Summary

• Requests the Department of Agriculture to expand plant quarantine facilities administered by the Plant Quarantine Branch to increase capacity for quarantining disease-resistant plant stock and responding to invasive species threats.

• Cites the 2020 discovery of coffee leaf rust in Hawaii as evidence of gaps in state quarantine resources and the need for adequate facilities to house rust-resistant coffee varieties requiring at least one year of quarantine.

• Directs the Department of Agriculture to submit a report with findings, recommendations, and any proposed legislation regarding plant quarantine facility expansion to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the 2023 Regular Session convening.

• Notes the Department testified on Senate Bill 2908 (2022) that it planned to submit a capital improvement project request to expand the Plant Inspection Office in Honolulu by fifty percent quarantine capacity.