HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

50

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

urging the department of agriculture to scientifically evaluate quarantine options that reduce animal confinement.

 

WHEREAS, Hawaii is the only rabies-free state in the United States; and

WHEREAS, to maintain a rabies-free status requires stringent entry requirements for dogs, cats, and other carnivores; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Agriculture is responsible for ensuring that rabies is not introduced into the State; and

WHEREAS, the department completed a scientific risk assessment in 1996 that resulted in a 30-day alternative quarantine program for animals that meet specific pre-arrival and post-arrival requirements; and

WHEREAS, the department has been monitoring and evaluating the thirty day quarantine program since its inception and has initiated another scientific risk assessment to determine whether the current confinement period could be further reduced without increasing the risk of rabies introduction; and

WHEREAS, rabies has important economic, environmental, and public health implications; and

WHEREAS, a new evaluation and assessment of current quarantine requirements and procedures is necessary to determine the effectiveness of current law and whether current law is more restrictive than necessary; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representative of the Twenty-First Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2002, that the Department of Agriculture is requested to update its 1996 scientific risk assessment to identify other quarantine options that further reduce the animal confinement period and determine if additional quarantine changes are warranted; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Department of Accounting and General Services and other appropriate state agencies, is requested to examine the current and future use of the animal quarantine station and possible alternative uses of the unused kennels or the space they occupy; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Agriculture is requested to solicit public input on the State's quarantine laws by conducting hearings in each county of the State to discuss the effectiveness and impact of the quarantine program and its requirements, including the imposition of fees and funding sources for the program; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Agriculture shall submit its findings and conclusions, including recommended changes to Hawaii's quarantine laws, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2003; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chair of the Board of Agriculture and Comptroller of the Department of Accounting and General Services.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Quarantine of Animals; Reduction of Confinement Period