HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 272 Draft 01 2012-2014 .. .
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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
WHEREAS, Senate Bill No. 727 would have significantly restricted county home rule of
any matter affecting the wellbeing of its residents by deleting from HRS, Subsection (13) of
Section 46-1.5, the key words "health" and"life" so that this jurisdictional statute would instead
read as follows:
"(13) Each county shall have the power to enact ordinances deemed necessary to
[protect health, life, and property, and to preserve]_
(A) Protect property; or
(B) Preserve the order and security of the county and its inhabitants..."; and
WHEREAS, Senate Bill No. 727 was titled and described in a deceptive manner as there
was no disclosure or indication that the legislation would severely reduce the scope of county-
level authority: the measure title was "Relating to Economic Development" and the description
was "Expressly prohibits the enactment of county ordinances relating to the protection of
property and the order and security of inhabitants, if the ordinances conflict with the intent of
state or federal statutes, rules, or regulations."; and
WHEREAS, at the House Judiciary Committee hearing, the testifiers supporting Senate
Bill No. 727 were representatives or persons associated with the agrochemical industry,
including the principal biotech advocacy organization, Hawaii Crop Improvement Association,
who testified that it is their intent to eliminate local government jurisdiction over matters relating
to agriculture as local governments interfere with their corporate policies, and that they had been
successful in achieving this goal in over 20 other states; and
WHEREAS, Senate Bill No. 590 would have expanded the scope of the Right to Farm
Act, HRS, Section 165-4, beyond its original purpose to protect farmers from nuisance lawsuits
resulting from the encroachment of urbanization; and
WHEREAS, Senate Bill No. 590 would have largely insulated the agrochemical industry
from executive, legislative, or judicial jurisdiction over the cultivation, development, or testing
of genetically engineered crops and plants or the use of associated pesticides, regardless of the
potential harm to people, the environment, or adjacent waterways; and
WHEREAS, the Council believes it is important to take a proactive stand in the face of
such possible State legislation that would thereby undermine the counties' existing authority to
regulate matters relating to the cultivation, development, or testing of genetically engineered
crops and plants; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII that the
proposed bill, attached as Exhibit A, relating to the counties' authority on agriculture, be
introduced and approved by the 2014 Hawai`i State Legislature.
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BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Clerk of the County of Hawai`i shall transmit
copies of this resolution to the Honorable Neil Abercrombie, Governor of the State of Hawai`i;
the President of the State Senate; the Speaker of the State House of Representatives; and the
Mayors of Kaua`i, Maui, Hawai`i, and the City and County of Honolulu.
Dated at , Hawai`i, this day of , 2014.
INTRODUCED BY:CO Z CIL M BER, COUNTY OF HAWAII
COUNTY COUNCIL ROLL CALL VOTE
County of Hawai`i AYES NOES ABS EX
Hilo, Hawai`i EOFF
FORD
I hereby certify that the foregoing RESOLUTION was by ILAGAN
the vote indicated to the right hereof adopted by the COUNCIL of the KANUHA
County of Hawai`i on
KERN
ONISHI
ATTEST: POINDEXTER
WILLE
YOSHIMOTO
Reference: C-604/GREDC
COUNTY CLERK CHAIRPERSON & PRESIDING OFFICER RESOLUTION NO. 2'72 14
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Exhibit A
.B . NO.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO THE COUNTIES ' AUTHORITY ON AGRICULTURE
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
1 SECTION 1 . The primary objective of the Hawaii Right to
2 Farm Act was to protect and promote agricultural lands by
3 preventing nuisance lawsuits arising due to encroaching
4 development . On the other hand, each county has an interest in
5 preventing the establishment of agricultural technologies that
6 are adverse to what are generally accepted agricultural
7 practices within that county. In particular, this amendment
8 makes clear that each county, through its elected county
9 council, has the right to regulate the cultivation of
10 genetically engineered crops .
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12 The counties are aware that the cultivation of genetically
13 engineered crops in one location can contaminate neighboring
14 non-genetically engineered crops . In light of the substantial
15 controversy surrounding the cultivation of genetically
16 engineered crops and the differential in the likelihood of
17 cross-pollination depending upon the type of crop being
18 cultivated, county-level oversight concerning the open-air
19 cultivation of genetically engineered crops is appropriate to
20 minimize potential risks and adverse impacts .
21
22 The counties foremost obligation is to protect the health
23 and safety of its population and are aware that standard medical
24 facilities in our outer-island counties are not equipped with
25 toxicology laboratories for either sufficient or sophisticated
26 testing of illnesses and harms that may result from genetically
27 engineered organisms or their associated pesticides .
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29 The counties are also aware that in 2013 the multinational
30 agrochemical corporations lead an effort to gut the jurisdiction
31 of the counties, such that they would no longer have any
32 authority over matters concerning the health and wellbeing of
33 their residents . (See 2013 Senate Bill No. 727 . ) In addition,
34 the multinational agrochemical corporations advocated to further
35 erode the ability of either the State or the counties to
36 regulate the cultivation of genetically modified crops by way of
37 Senate Bill No. 590, a proposed amendment to the Right to Farm
38 Act aimed at insulating these corporations from lawsuits and
39 regulations that might in some manner curtail their cultivation,
40 development, or testing of genetically engineered crops in the
41 State of Hawai ' i . The counties abhor these efforts to undermine
42 local government protection of the people and the environment .
43
44 SECTION 2 . Section 165-1, Hawai ' i Revised Statutes, is
45 amended to read as follows :
46
47 "§165-1 Findings and purpose. The legislature finds that
48 when nonagricultural land uses extend into agricultural areas,
49 farming operations often become the subject of nuisance lawsuits
50 that may result in the premature removal of lands from
51 agricultural use and may discourage future investments in
52 agriculture . The legislature also finds that under the Hawaii
53 State Planning Act, it is a declared policy of this State to
54 "foster attitudes and activities conducive to maintaining
55 agriculture as a major sector of Hawaii ' s economy. " Accordingly,
56 it is the purpose of this chapter to reduce the loss to the
57 State of its agricultural resources by limiting the
58 circumstances under which farming operations may be deemed to be
59 a nuisance. This act is intended to prevent the inappropriate
60 intrusion of non-agricultural land uses into agricultural areas
61 and is not meant to insulate those engaged in the cultivation,
62 development, or testing of genetically engineered crops or
63 plants from legitimate public or private nuisance claims or
64 other civil actions resulting from the contamination of non-
65 genetically engineered crop farms, neighboring properties, or
66 adjacent waterways . "
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68 SECTION 3 . New statutory material is underscored.
69
70 SECTION 4 . This Act shall take effect upon its approval .
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75 INTRODUCED BY:
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