HR 24 Hawaii House · 2025 Regular Session

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TO INCLUDE A STATEMENT ON DESECRATION LAWS IN THE PLANT AND ANIMAL DECLARATION FORM.

HR 24 requests the Hawaii Department of Agriculture to add a new acknowledgment section to the existing Plant and Animal Declaration Form, which travelers must complete when arriving in Hawaii with plants or animals. This section would require travelers to affirm they are aware of laws protecting Native Hawaiian cultural sites, burial grounds, places of worship, and wildlife conservation regulations. The bill does not create new laws or penalties but aims to inform travelers about existing protections through a form they already complete. It directly affects all passengers, crew, and officers required to submit the declaration form upon entering Hawaii. The resolution specifies the acknowledgment must cover awareness of relevant federal, state, and county laws governing cultural sites and wildlife.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

House Passage

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 27, 2025 Last action Mar 27, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HR24 → HR24_HD1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was reformatted from a standard House Resolution to a digital document format with metadata headers. The substantive content was significantly expanded to include new provisions about wildlife protection laws and the Akamai Arrival Program, while the original requirement about desecration laws was retained but reorganized into a five-point checklist format.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include additional requirements about protected wildlife and the Akamai Arrival Program, while maintaining the original intent to notify visitors about desecration laws through the Plant and Animal Declaration Form.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new requirement for visitors to acknowledge federal and state laws on protected, indigenous, endangered, and threatened wildlife

Added a new requirement noting that the Akamai Arrival Program will be used to facilitate the resolution once fully implemented

Reorganized the acknowledgment checklist from three points to five points, splitting the original desecration awareness requirement into separate items about wildlife laws and general legal awareness

TECHNICAL

Converted the document from a standard legislative text format to a digital document format with metadata headers and timestamps

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the House by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 27, 2025

Lower · Passed

Resolution adopted in final form.

lower

Mar 27, 2025

Lower · Passed

Adopted as amended in HD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Hussey, Templo, Ward excused (3).

lower

Mar 27, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported from AGR (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1643) as amended in HD 1, recommending adoption.

lower

Mar 21, 2025

Lower · Passed

The committee on AGR recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 4 Ayes: Representative(s) Kahaloa, Kusch, Perruso, Quinlan; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 2 Excused: Representative(s) Lowen, Ward.

lower

Mar 14, 2025

Committee

Referred to AGR, referral sheet 22

lower

Feb 27, 2025

Introduced

Offered

lower

6 primary · 0 co-sponsors