RES 272 Draft 01 2012-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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.. . 4o;��Y OF . . • COUNTY OF HAWAII -•_•6?" %1.'` STATE OF HAWAII •RESOLUTION NO. 272 14 A RESOLUTION PROPOSING A STATE BILL RELATING TO THE COUNTIES' AUTHORITY TO REGULATE THE CULTIVATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF GENETICALLY ENGINEERED CROPS AND PLANTS AND ASSOCIATED PESTICIDES. WHEREAS, Hawaii Revised Statute (HRS), Section 46-1.5, "General powers and limitation of the counties," provides for county-level jurisdiction over matters affecting health, life, and property; and WHEREAS, the regulation of genetically engineered crops, plants, and associated pesticides—including herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides—is well within the counties' authority pursuant to HRS, Section 46-1.5, as these matters affect the health, safety, and welfare of our residents, as well as private and public property; and WHEREAS, the Hawai`i County Council ("Council") supports sustainable, community- based agriculture, which is the growth of healthy and safe crops that are customarily consumed by the residents of Hawaii Island by using agricultural practices that are, likewise, healthy and safe for the long-term health of the soil and environment; and WHEREAS, the Council is concerned about the adverse effects that the widespread cultivation of genetically engineered crops has had in other counties, as well as the harmful effects that many have experienced from cultivating these crops in other communities around the world; and WHEREAS, the Council is cognizant that the possible short-term advantages of cultivating genetically engineered crops need to be weighed against the long-term benefits of more ecofriendly agricultural policies and practices as is underscored in the County of Hawai`i General Plan, Section 2.2(h), Economic Goals: "Promote and develop the island of Hawaii into a unique scientific and cultural model, where economic gains are in balance with social and physical amenities. Development should be reviewed on the basis of total impact on the residents of the County, not only in terms of immediate short run economic benefits."; and WHEREAS, in 2013 multinational agrochemical corporations lobbied at the State Legislature for: (1) Senate Bill No. 727 that would have eliminated county-level jurisdiction over agriculture and all matters relating to the health and wellbeing of residents; and(2) Senate Bill No. 590 that would have largely insulated the agrochemical corporations from lawsuits relating to harms caused by their operations as well as from state-level regulation of the cultivation or development of genetically engineered organisms and use of associated pesticides; and