Gov. Green signs 12 bills to strengthen Hawaiʻi’s agriculture, biosecurity, and responsible land management

Gov. Josh Green signed into law 12 bills on Wednesday, aimed at fortifying Hawaiʻi’s agricultural resilience, enhancing biosecurity measures, and promoting responsible land management practices. 

“These bills represent a huge step in the safeguarding of Hawaiʻi’s agricultural interests, in protecting consumer rights, and in ensuring biosecurity,” said Green. “Supporting local agriculture strengthens our food self-sufficiency and helps us diversify our economy.” 

Key bills signed into law include: 

SB2079: Strengthening Importation Conditions: This measure enhances regulations for the importation of nursery stock, plants, animals, and related products into Hawaiʻi. It mandates immediate notification upon arrival, detailed shipment information, and secure holding to prevent pest spread until inspection. The bill also strengthens labeling requirements and grants inspectors the authority to enforce quarantine and treatment protocols. 

SB3365: Comprehensive Biosecurity Measures: SB3365 requires the mandatory distribution of state plant and animal declaration forms to passengers and crew arriving from outside Hawaiʻi. Visitors, returning residents, and crew will be allowed to submit their forms electronically while maintaining Hawaiʻi’s paper option.

HB2298: Protecting Hawaiʻi-grown coffee: This legislation addresses deceptive labeling practices of Hawaiʻi-grown coffee. Effective July 1, 2027, the law prohibits the use of geographic origin names like “Kona” on coffee products unless they contain at least 51% coffee by weight from that origin. The bill mandates clear labeling requirements for coffee blends and strict enforcement to protect the integrity of Hawaiʻi-grown coffee brands. 

HB2278: Enhancing macadamia nut labeling transparency: HB2278 increases transparency in macadamia nut labeling by requiring products containing nuts grown outside Hawaiʻi to disclose this fact on the label. It prohibits misleading “with Hawaiʻi-Grown” claims unless all macadamia nuts are sourced from Hawaiʻi, with stringent enforcement measures and penalties for violations. 

The complete list of bills signed included the following: 

Click links to see full details of bills enacted into law.

• Relating to farmers: SB2960 SD1 HD1 CD1
• Relating to value-added production: HB2144 HD1 SD2 CD1
• Relating to agriculture: SB2413 SD2 HD1 CD1
• Relating to regulation of archaeological activities: SB3154 SD1 HD1 CD1
• Relating ot camps: HB1923 HD1 SD2
• Relating to pesticides: HB2337 HD1 SD2
• Relating to invasive species: HB2546 HD1 SD1 CD1
• Relating to feral chickens: SB2401 SD2 HD2 CD1