Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Environment

Hello, Hello, and good afternoon and mahalo for joining us in today's AM hearing. It's Wednesday, April 1, and we are convened in Room 224 in video conferencing, which includes the audio and video of remote participants. It's being streamed live on YouTube. In the unlikely event that it's cut short, the committee will reconvene to discuss any outstanding business on April 6 at Monday at 03:05PM here in Room 224 during AM's time slot and a public notice will be posted on the legislature's website.

And we do have a two minute time limit on testifiers.

Two items on the agenda. First up is, governor's message 729 submitting for consideration and confirmation of the advisory committee on pesticides given to our nominee, Steve Russo. First up we have is DAB.

Aloha chair, vice chair, members of the committee. My name is Esther Reichert, Pesticides Branch Manager at Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity. We stand on our written testimony and I just want to reiterate that Steve Russo has shown great work when he was employed by the Department of Ag a few years ago and he has continued to be a successful advocate of the appropriate use of pesticides in the pesticide industry. I will be here if you have any questions.

Great. Thank you. Anyone else wishing to testify on this measure? Okay. Steve, would you like to make a statement?

Yes. Good afternoon, chair and members of the committee. I just wanna thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I hope I can contribute what I've learned both working at the state and working in private industry about the safe use of pesticides. I am a board certified entomologist and a certified safety professional, so I feel like I do bring, in addition to my experience, some professional credentialing that can be beneficial to the people of Hawaii.

And my primary focus really for, you know, what I can contribute is some industry perspective and kind of how how proposed measures might work in a practical sense. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have, and I'm here and available.

Thanks, Steve. Members, any questions? K. I got one question for you, Steve. So from your experience, where do you think Hawaii is doing well on pesticide regulation, and where is there room to improve?

Okay. So I think where we're doing well, first of all, I think we do a a pretty good job of being clear about what the state expects from our applicators. I think we do a pretty good job of combining the educational outreach with the enforcement programs we have. I think it's really important as people enter the industry that they get a really good education about what the expectations are, what the laws are.

We didn't all get a formal education in this subject, so we don't all have that background to to lean on.

So I think that's where we're really strong. I think where we could probably improve is when we're looking at things like invasive species. I think we

can improve on more public private partnerships to try to ensure that we're addressing anything that pops up in a very timely and efficient manner. That's something I do in my business right now.

We do some invasive species work. I think there's a lot of room for that in a variety of different ways in the community. And, again, it has to source back to education and safe communication for those involved.

Okay. Alright. Thank you very much, Steve. We have three in support, zero opposed, and zero comments. Let's move on to the next measure, GM 777.

Submitting for consideration and confirmation to Board of Ag and Biosecurity gubernatorial nominee Suzanne Shriner. First up is DAB.

Good afternoon, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee, Senator Rhoads. Sharon Hurd, Chair of the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity, for which Suzanne Shriner is being nominated. I've known Suzanne... Full disclosure. I've been a fan of Suzanne Shriner for many years, admiring the work that she's done on behalf of the industry, both in the county, state, and federal levels.

What she brings to the board that board is lacking right now, and she would bring a real enhancement, would be with the export sector. She is the Executive Director of the Synergistic Hawaii Agriculture Council, and she is responsible to do something called a very difficult document called the Unified Export Strategy, the UES. She's been doing that successfully over the years, bringing to Hawaii and Hawaii exporters upwards of $200,000-300,000 a year to conduct activities.

That is something the board would really be helped by is that export piece, as well as coffee farmer representative on the federal level. She brings skill set to the board that would really help us make our decisions. So thank you for the opportunity to testify. Available for questions if there are any. Thank you.

Thank you, Sharon. Next is Mark Petersen on Zoom from Kona Coffee Farmers Association. Mark?

Hello. Can you hear me?

Yes.

Okay. Hello, Chair Gabbard and Vice Chair Richards and Members of the Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify in strong support of Suzanne Shriner's appointment to the Board of Agriculture. You have seen my written testimony.

So today I'd like to highlight several personal qualities I believe makes Suzanne an exceptional fit for this role. For the past five years, I've worked closely with Suzanne in our leadership roles with the Kona Coffee Farmers Association. In that time I have seen day by day her integrity, her steadfastness, and her deep commitment to Hawaii agriculture.

She is profoundly honest, guided by strong ethical standards, and consistently places the interest of farmers and the broader community above her own. Suzanne is also a doer. When complex issues arise, she steps forward, organizes the work, follows through until the job is done, and she has led difficult projects that require patience, technical understanding, and the ability to bring diverse viewpoints together.

She does this not by dominating the room, but by listening first, truly listening and contributing thoughtfully. And as the discussions progress, her approach is collaborative, respectful, and solutions oriented. In a group setting, Suzanne is the person who helps move conversations from ideas to actions.

She is skilled at finding common ground and is willing to compromise when needed to achieve a broader goal. These are exactly the qualities that make an excellent board member. She has integrity, humility, practical experience, and ability to work constructively with others. Most importantly, Suzanne cares deeply about Hawaii agriculture's future.

She understands the challenges facing farmers, the importance of biosecurity, and the need for policies that support both economic viability and environmental stewardship. For these reasons, I believe Suzanne will be a highly productive member of the Board of Agriculture and I respectfully urge the committee to confirm her appointment. Mahalo, and thank you for your consideration.

Thank you very much, Mark. Anyone else wishing to testify on GM 777? Brian.

Thank you, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee. Brian Miyamoto here on behalf of the Hawaii Farm Bureau. You have our written testimony in strong support. Just want to add a couple of things. I don't think I can say any better than Chair Hurd and the previous speaker on why Ms. Shriner is perfect for this position.

She's a farmer. She's Executive Director of SHAC. And she has another title that I gave her today after the briefing. She's a rock star. Senator Rhoads, remember your briefing back in October? Who did we have on there in the small panel? Ms. Shriner.

She was chosen intentionally for her knowledge, background, and understanding, especially where federal programs are concerned and the commodities, the export commodity that she represents. Coffee, papaya, nursery, cacao. Chair Gabbard, who do you have on your panel today? And that was selected by Amanda Shaw.

So somebody it wasn't me. It was but appropriately on there. Again, she is a rock star. She will bring so much value with her experience, her knowledge, and her understanding of the true needs of agriculture because she is one of those producers. So again, we are in strong support and we encourage the committee to vote favorably for Ms. Shriner. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Thank you, Brian. Joan Obra on Zoom.

Aloha, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee, and Senator Rhoads. My name is Joan Obra, and I am the grant writer and program manager for the Synergistic Hawaii Agriculture Council. And it is hard for me to limit to two minutes the good things that I want to say about Suzanne Shriner, but I will do my best.

I've worked closely with Suzanne since 2017. It's about nine years now. And under her leadership as administrator, SHAC's programs serving Hawaii agriculture have expanded considerably. We now include marketing, disaster relief, scientific and technical assistance, and workforce development.

All to benefit Hawaii grown coffee, macadamia nuts, cacao, papaya, tea, ulu, and floriculture and nursery products. And this expansion is no accident. Suzanne is a remarkably clear strategic thinker, someone who can hold the immediate priorities, the medium range planning, and the long term vision all at once.

She also has cultivated extensive relationships at the county, state, and federal level, as well as with the University of Hawaii and other organizations that serve Hawaii agriculture. And this was especially helpful last year when federal funding for our programs shifted considerably.

Suzanne's network and her resourcefulness helped us resecure funding for Hawaii ag. And finally, I want to emphasize how Suzanne leads. She listens. She supports her people. She gives credit publicly and takes personal responsibility.

And in nearly a decade of working alongside her, I have never once doubted that she has the mission of Hawaii ag and the people around her at the center of everything that she does. The Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity would be fortunate to have her. I offer my full and enthusiastic support. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else wishing to testify on GM 777? Ms. Shriner, would you like to make a statement?

Thank you, Chair, Vice Chair, Members of the Committee, Senators. I appreciate your time and I'm humbled to be here before you today and to hear the testimony of my peers. I'm very grateful for their comments. I've been in ag for about 25 years. I moved home for a year, left an engineering and sciences job to help my parents out on their family farm during some health issues.

Obviously, I never left. And what I found in the ag community was a group of growers who are wonderfully realistic about the moment they're in, whether it's flooding or sunny weather, who are always optimistic about the future harvest or the cattle coming in, and are a little bit crazy to believe that they can live off the land here in Hawaii. And I really have enjoyed my time.

And during that period, somewhere I shifted from enjoying growing my family's coffee and mac nut business to being more interested in helping other growers increase their own businesses. And that's how I became involved with SHAC. Started out with pest and disease work and moved into the marketing work and now into disaster relief as well.

And I have that aspect of service that I enjoy so much is my reason for wanting to contribute to the board. It's another aspect of service to help the growers on our neighbor islands and the Big Island and all the people that I enjoy working with. So with that, I'm open to any questions, and I appreciate your time.

Thank you very much. And we do have one more testifier. You can stay here. Mr. Glenn Sako. Is that right?

Yes. Chair Gabbard, Vice Chair Richards, and Members of the House Committee on Agriculture and Environment. My name is Glenn...

Excuse me. This is the Senate.

Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Well. But, anyway, my name is Glenn Sako. I'm agriculture specialist with the Department of Research and Development in the County of Hawaii. On behalf of Director Benson Medina, Deputy Director Dennis Lin, and myself, we support Suzanne Shriner's nomination to the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity.

She has an extensive background in coffee and tropical agriculture and has done, you know, significant work to support the industry groups of floriculture, macadamia nut, papaya, coffee, and cacao as the administrator of the Synergistic Hawaii Agriculture Council. I found it to be a pleasure working with her and fully support her nomination. So thank you very much for this opportunity.

Thank you, Glenn. Members, any questions?

Quick question, Chair.

Senator DeCoite.

Suzanne, thank you for being here, and thank you for what you do. I think family farms are the best. So with that being said, do you think the department is doing enough to address all invasive species and pests that we're dealing with today with the threat in our local agriculture?

I think that, you know, being on Big Island and listening to the wave of coqui that came over the hill and now a Little Fire Ant, we knew those came over. You know, this is a long standing issue on the neighbor islands in particular where it can be a challenge to catch them early enough.

You know, if we had caught coqui in those early days when it was just in the Pahole area, we'd all be better for it. And so I think the scale of invasives that assault us every day are probably bigger than what any state agency can handle, and I'm not sure there's an easy answer for it without a lot more staff to inspect everything that comes in.

You still have people who sneak stuff in. You know? That's how we got the coqui. So I think they, to contain them early is probably the biggest challenge because they don't always know they're in the community until it's too late. So.

So I just wanna follow up. So two year, three years ago, spittlebug. Spittlebug first came. It was, you know, found, and they delayed the process of addressing spittlebug, which took out thousands upon thousands of acres of feed pasture lands. I mean, you know, I sit by and I cringe every time I watch the board meet.

One person kinda might drive it, and then everybody just Kumbaya, Kumbaya, and joins in. What would you would have done differently if you sat on the board knowing that there could have been several different measures, I believe, to control spittlebug so that it would not spread?

And then it also put a it kinda suppressed, I believe, other ranchers because now the treatment of moving cattle from one area to the other became super apparent. Take, like, Molokai tuberculosis. So today I'm not happy because there's still a moratorium on it. You know, what are some of the things you believe you can do to talk with the board members instead of rubber stamping one individual's movement going forward?

Well, I'm not a rubber stamper. I'm someone who...

That's why I'm asking you this question.

Yeah. So, like, to use my coffee experience. When coffee leaf rust showed up on Maui, you know, it was already on Hawaii Island then. We just didn't know it. You know, that quarantine of materials was helpful, but it moved on people too, and that's probably how it moved.

I think early action is the most important thing. And sometimes here in Hawaii, we pause rather than move, and we have to move. And we have to move quickly with invasives. We don't get a lot of time to actually limit them to a small area. And I think that would be, if you could go back in time, that would be my recommendation to the people who are responsible for responding.

And that includes not just DAB but but BIISC and the HISC and DLNR if it's on their land. And some of these, you know, a little bit of rubbing between agencies. You know, it's your problem. It's your problem. And my goal would be to have those conversations.

To reach in where it's appropriate for me to reach in, not to overstep anyone's boundaries. But I like to have productive conversations with staff. Not even as a board member, but as a member of the community, I do that now. I'll pick up the phone and say, hey, what can we do here to move things?

So I think the challenge that I find with, you know, some of the board members is that they're not willing to stand up. They kinda just sit there and, you know, the spittlebug. You know? I believe there were several tactics we could have used for spittlebug. Like, I believe in burn back to kinda suppress an invasive species as it spread.

I mean, I look towards you as, you know, coming from a family farm. You're not gonna take no shit sitting down. Right? You know? So I kinda look towards you to be that individual to speak up. And and you come with a lot of good recommendations and by good people. So thank you for wanting to serve. Thank you, Chair.

Anyone else? Senator Richards.

I don't want to let Suzanne come in just for the party and have a conversation. It's no secret. Suzanne and I have worked together quite a bit. I think you coming forward and willing to serve on the board is great. The legislature made a statement as our state did that we changed it from Department of Ag to Ag and Biosecurity.

And that's just adding a couple of words, but that drives that it means something. And so what Senator DeCoite is talking about is making sure we have, and you made the comment, slow response. I think that's been our biggest enemy. How do you think on the board you can help effect a change to get that moving quicker?

Well, I think the Chair can vouch for me that I'm not afraid to pick up the phone, call her, or text her, or alert her to issues that are going on in the community. One of the issues I saw with CBB was that, with Coffee Berry Borer, was that a lot of growers didn't understand the situation.

So a lot of times, you need to involve the growers in those conversations early. And as particularly with biosecurity because if a farmer doesn't understand that by moving his feed, he might cause a problem for his neighbor, then it's really important that we get in front of that farmer and say, hey, we're in this together. By the same token, the staff who need to be responding to that issue have to jump in as well.

So there's a community overlap with that where we are all in the same canoe, to use that old thing, where we all have to step up together. It's not always easy because people, you know, we're a business. We have to move our product. We have to move our cattle. We have to move our coffee. And to get people to pause so we can solve that situation in that minute is a big challenge as well as bringing in enough staff. So.

And it will take that strength to stand up and say we have to move now, and like Senator DeCoite was saying, not just rubber stamp. And I know you're not a rubber stamp, which is why I'm excited to have you on the board. So thank you. Thank you, Chair.

Alright. So thank you, Ms. Shriner. We had 25 in support, zero opposed, one comment. And of those supporters, including James Falconer from Hawaii Coffee Growers Association, Eric Tanouye from HFNA, Chris Speere from Maui Coffee Association, Ralph Gaston from Isla Custom Coffees.

Nicole Galase, Hawaii Cattlemen's Council, Nathan Trump from Island Harvest, Gordon Inouye from Puna Flower Power, Abby Munoz from Monarch, Monarch Coffee, and Jon Tanouye from testifying for Orchid Growers of Hawaii, Alla Kostenko from Coffee A Coffee Farm, Thong Teng Neo from Hawaii Tropical Flower Council.

Ryson Nakamasu from Hawaii Coffee Association. So I think you have some wide based support there, I would say. So I told you, a total of 25 in support, and plus there are an additional however many individual who are in support. So if the committee's okay.

We'll just go right into decision making. Going back to the first measure SC, excuse me, GM 729 on Steve Russo, Russo to the advisory committee on pesticides. Chair's recommendation will be to advise and consent. Any discussion? Chair votes aye.

Vice chair?

On GM 729 with recommendation, advising consent. Chair votes aye. Vice chair votes aye. Senator DeCoite?

Aye.

Senator Rhoads?

Senator Awa is excused. Chair, you have four in favor. Motion is adopted.

Aye.

Thank you, members. And consideration confirmation to the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity. Agum Control nominee, Suzanne Schreiner. Term to expire 06/30/2030. Chair's recommendation will be to advise and consent.

Any discussion? Chair votes aye. Vice chair.

On GM 777 of the four members in attendance, anybody voting with reservations? Any no votes? Chair you have four in favor motion is adopted.

Thank you very much, members. And that concludes the 03:00.

Hi, everybody. Good afternoon and mahalo. Joining us on the joint GBO, ABN hearing on Wednesday, 04/01/2026 3:30PM. Conference Room 224. Meeting being strived streamed live on YouTube. In the unlikely event that we have to suspend due to tech difficulties.

We'll reconvene and discuss any outstanding business at 03:01pm, Tuesday, 04/06/2026 in Room 225 with a public notice on the website. We do have a time limit testimony, but I don't think we're gonna need it, so I won't bother reading it out. We have one item on the agenda and it is a resolution and is requesting certain state and county agencies in coordination with community based organizations develop a comprehensive statewide food security strategy. First up, we have Department of Ag. They have written in support.

We have DBED. They have written in communications. We have DDC.

Thank you. Daintry Bartoldus for the Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities. We're gonna stand in strong support of our written testimony. We did put a comment in there and and asked for a recommended change to strengthen, and we're here to answer any com any questions you may have. Thank you so much.

Okay. Thanks so much. Appreciate you being here, Daintry. We also have, let's see, Aliyah Herman for Hawaii Food Bank. They are in support.

We have Hawaii Appleseed written in support. Lauren Zirbel, Hawaii Food Industry Association written in support. And finally, two individuals, Kaylee Swan and Kima Wassel Hardy from apologize if I'm butchering your names. They are in support. Are any of them here, you guys then?

You wanna testify?

I just wanted to thank you for the opportunity to stand in strong support, and I stand by my written testimony, and I'm available for questions if you have. Great.

Thank you so much. Appreciate it. And then also late from Amanda Shaw from Agriculture Stewardship of Hawaii.

Aloha, chair, vice chair, members of the committee.

I call on my for the late testimony. Appreciate this measure moving forward so much. One respectful request for an amendment. We identify that there is an act 239 interagency food systems working group that's administered within the department of business, economic development, and tourism, and that is co chaired by, the ADC, the Agribusiness Development Corporation, and DAB, Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity. And so we thought that might be an appropriate venue that could take forward this report.

They're set up to be interagency. They have a mandate to create statewide plans and coordination mechanisms. So I just wanted to offer that in. Thank you so much for the opportunity to testify. Here for any questions.

Okay. Thank you.

That's all we received on SCR 41 SR 31. Anybody, which I doubt there will be, anybody else in the audience wishing to testify or Zoom? Seeing none, members' questions? Seeing none, do you wanna recess or you're ready to begin? We're ready. Okay.

We appreciate your your comments. However, we're gonna move this rezo along because the working group can can can pick it up and assist in the implementation of it. We are gonna take the amendments offered by the by King Tree here for the resolution to add into the whereas is to ensure that disabled community is part of this process. Okay? Any questions or comments?

If not,

I have the vote.

Oh, I got you. And okay. Okay. You're taking it. I'll take it.

Go for it. Senate draft 141 and 31.

Alright. Recommendation is chair 31 and 41. Chair votes, aye, right? And then vice chair.

Oh, aye, sorry.

Vice chair.

I vote aye. Senator Moriwaki is excused and Senator Awa is excused. Chair recommendation is adopted.

Thank you guys.

Same recommendation for AEN. Any discussion? Chair votes aye, vice chair.

On SCR 41. Sharing a pen. SR 31 as recommendation pass unamended.

No. No. No. We're making amendments.

Oh, excuse. That's correct with amendments. Chair votes aye.

Aye.

Vice chair votes aye. Senator DeCoite is excused. Senator Rhodes?

Senator Awa is excused.

Chair, you have three in favor. Motion is adopted. Thank you very much.

This concludes the hearing.