Money to manage feral chickens and educate the public are among the items zeroed out of the budget. Millions of dollars have been cut from other programs for pest management. Hawaii Gov.
Josh Green last week slashed $10 million from the Department of Agriculture’s budget aimed at limiting the spread of invasive species. Green said the agency likely couldn’t spend the money before it lapsed because the agency didn’t have the staffing to effectively identify and oversee initiatives that would put it to use. The biosecurity program still has another $10 million that Green left in the budget.
But that still has critics worried that the administration is giving up the fight against invasive species, a subject that received increased attention during the 2024 legislative session. The concerns come after 18 months of scrutiny of the agriculture department, charged with leading Hawaii biosecurity efforts but chastised for being sluggish in response to outbreaks. In May lawmakers unanimously approved about $20 million appropriation for biosecurity in a bill the governor then hailed as “landmark legislation.
” But in explaining his vetoes last month, Green cast doubt on how “feasible and executable” it would be for the short-staffed department to effectively spend the funds appropriated in House Bill 2619. Last week, when the vetoes were finalized, Green told lawmakers that the state’s financial outlook was also a factor. The agriculture department has faced persistent s.