Bill > SR161

This Resolution requests the Department of Agriculture to create and put into action a system for approving privately-owned and operated plant quarantine facilities. This is being done to address the threat of coffee leaf rust, a serious plant disease that endangers Hawaii's coffee industry, by allowing for the importation of rust-resistant coffee plant varieties. Currently, imported plants must go through state-run quarantine facilities, but using private facilities would significantly increase the capacity for these important imports, helping to protect and revitalize the coffee industry.