Rep. Scot Matayoshi

Requires the Department of Agriculture to lead and coordinate the State's invasive pest control and eradication biosecurity efforts. Establishes certain reporting requirements. Appropriates funds to the Department of Agriculture for programs and positions in agricultural biosecurity. Appropriates funds to each county as a grant-in-aid, subject to a county match, for the implementation of feral chicken control programs. (CD1)

Requires the employer to initiate negotiations on repricing of classes within a bargaining unit within thirty days of its receipt of the exclusive representative's written request to negotiate. Establishes that the employer's failure to initiate the negotiation within the required time frame and the parties' failure to reach an agreement within one hundred fifty days of the exclusive representative's written request to negotiate or by January 31 of a year in which the collective bargaining agreement is due to expire, whichever is earlier, constitutes an impasse to which the impasse procedures shall apply, under certain conditions and limitations. Sunsets 6/30/2029. (CD1)

Requires law enforcement agencies and the Law Enforcement Standards Board to consult the National Decertification Index and report certain information related to a law enforcement officer's certification status to the Index. Takes effect 7/1/2026. (SD2)

Authorizes law enforcement and fire officers to enter and inspect any licensee's or permittee's premises, under certain conditions, to verify compliance with the State's Fireworks Control Law. Establishes procedures for the Department of Law Enforcement to conduct administrative inspections of controlled premises. Requires certain licensees and permittees to keep records and maintain inventories. Requires licensees and permittees to report any stolen fireworks or articles pyrotechnic. Authorizes a law enforcement agency or county fire department to safely dispose of confiscated fireworks and articles pyrotechnic. Requires violators to be held liable for storage and disposal costs. Specifies that each type of prohibited firework constitutes a separate violation. Authorizes the Department of Law Enforcement, in addition to the counties, to enforce the Fireworks Control Law. (CD1)

Increases the maximum fine for violations of the fire protection laws. Specifies that each day a violation exists or continues to exist shall constitute a distinct and separate offense. Raises the criminal penalty for the offense of arson in the fourth degree to a class C felony if the offense was committed during the time period and within the geographic area in which a red flag warning was in effect. Provides that the state of mind requirement with respect to the attendant circumstance that the red flag warning was in effect is negligence. (SD1)

Clarifies that the Governor's and mayors' emergency management powers shall be consistent with the state constitution. Clarifies the scope of the comprehensive emergency management plan. Clarifies the powers of the Governor and mayors to extend or terminate a state of emergency and local state of emergency, respectively. Shortens the duration of price control periods from ninety-six hours to seventy-two hours. (CD1)

Beginning 7/1/2027, requires roasted coffee, instant coffee, and ready-to-drink coffee beverages that contain Hawaiʻi-grown and Hawaiʻi-processed coffee blended with coffee of another regional origin to contain no less than fifty-one per cent coffee by weight from the Hawaiʻi geographic origin. Exempts retailers that do not package roasted coffee, instant coffee, or ready-to-drink coffee beverages from liability for the sale of roasted coffee, instant coffee, or ready-to-drink coffee beverages that use a label or advertisement in violation of the coffee labeling law. (CD1)

Authorizes the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to appoint an organization as the limited owner of a cemetery, under certain circumstances, for the purposes of filing complaints and engaging in certain security and perpetual care activities for the cemetery. Requires an appointed limited owner of a cemetery to submit annual progress reports to the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. (CD1)

Authorizes a state department, division, or agency, rather than the Department of Human Resources Development, to conduct a minimum qualification review of applicants for vacant positions within the department, division, or agency. Requires the Department of Human Resources Development to provide state departments, divisions, and agencies the applications received for vacancies under certain circumstances. (CD1)

Maddy summaryThis bill allows farmers and land managers to use fine-meshed nets to protect plants from invasive species under specific conditions. The measure aims to provide a practical tool for controlling non-native plants that threaten local agriculture and ecosystems. By permitting this method, the legislation seeks to support plant protection efforts while addressing the spread of invasive species.