Committee advances firewood heat‑treatment ban; members prefer statutory language to speed protections

The House Committee on Agriculture & Food Systems on March 14 voted to pass SB 140 SD2 with amendments and to create a House Draft 1. The measure would prohibit importation, transport, or sale of firewood in the state unless certified and labeled as heat treated.

Rob Hoff of the Department of Land and Natural Resources testified in strong support, saying the measure would close a "small but important gap in our biosecurity." He explained that after the U.S. Department of Agriculture lifted certain mainland quarantines, states adopted heat‑treatment requirements; Hawaii currently imports some non‑heat‑treated firewood, though exact volumes are not known. Cedric Gates of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture said HDOA "stands on its written testimony offering comments on this measure and supporting the intent." Chelsea Arnott of the Hawaii Invasive Species Council and Stephanie Easley of the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species urged statutory action, noting administrative rulemaking has been slow.

Jonathan Ho, plant quarantine branch manager at HDOA, explained the department's rulemaking timeline and capacity constraints and said that, while rules can accomplish this, a legislative statute would move more quickly. He summarized the administrative process and said, "in a perfect world, that would probably be 6 to 8 months," but noted interim rules or legislative action can accelerate protections. The committee asked staff to prepare a House Draft 1 and to pass the bill with technical amendments; the committee recorded the recommendation as adopted.