Hawaiʻi’s Agriculture Department is asking state lawmakers for an additional $28 million in general funds over the next two years. Most of the money will go towards supporting its biosecurity efforts.
The governor’s proposed budget for the next biennium would allocate $73.4 million to the state Department of Agriculture and $71.5 million for its operating budget over the next two fiscal years, respectively.
Most of the increase the department is asking for would go toward funding a biosecurity bill that state lawmakers passed last year. That includes efforts to manage invasive species, with the little fire ant and coconut rhinoceros beetle top of mind, and funding for 44 biosecurity-related positions…