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HCR 25

Waynesburg Pike Road

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Trenton Barnhart and 8 co-sponsors

Requires adding an acknowledgement to the Hawaii Plant and Animal Declaration Form, ensuring arrivals affirm awareness of laws protecting monuments, Native sites, wildlife, and how

To Transportation and Infrastructure
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Bill Summary · HCR 25

Note on document inconsistency
The header information supplied names HCR 25 as a “Special Day” measure designating April 30, 2025 as Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Day. However, every version of the resolution text provided (HCR25, HCR25_HD1, HCR25_SD1) concerns amendments to the State of Hawaii Plant and Animal Declaration Form to add an acknowledgement about laws protecting public monuments, cultural sites, and wildlife. This summary treats the textual content of the resolution (the Plant & Animal Declaration Form changes) as the subject.

Purpose

Request the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) to add a required acknowledgement section to the State of Hawaii Plant and Animal Declaration Form so arriving passengers, officers, and crew affirm awareness of federal, state, and county laws protecting public monuments, Native Hawaiian cultural sites, burial grounds, places of worship, and—per amended versions—protected wildlife; and to notify relevant agencies to facilitate implementation, including via the digital Akamai Arrival Program when available.

Key provisions / changes requested

  • Directs HDOA to include on the existing State of Hawaii Plant and Animal Declaration Form a new section for each individual required to complete the form to acknowledge/affirm:
    • Awareness of federal, state, and county laws, rules and ordinances protecting public monuments and structures, including Native Hawaiian cultural sites, burial grounds, and places of worship.
    • (In amended versions) Awareness of federal and state laws regarding protected, indigenous, endangered, and threatened wildlife.
    • Awareness of ways to learn more about those laws, rules, and ordinances.
    • A commitment that the individual will heed those laws, rules, and ordinances.
  • Requests that, once the Akamai Arrival Program (a digital arrival/declara­tion system) is fully rolled out, the intent of the resolution be facilitated through that program as an additional media channel (explicit in SD1/HD1).
  • Directs transmittal of certified copies of the resolution to: Regional Director, National Park Service Region 12; Governor; Chairperson, Board of Agriculture; President & CEO, Hawaii Tourism Authority; and each county mayor.

Who is affected

  • Passengers, officers, and crew of aircraft and vessels required under HRS §150A‑5 to complete the State of Hawaii Plant and Animal Declaration Form (e.g., many arrivals from the continental U.S.).
  • Hawaii Department of Agriculture (responsible for form content and implementation).
  • Hawaii Tourism Authority (survey currently included on the form) and agencies receiving certified copies for awareness/coordination.
  • Visitors to Hawaii whose increased awareness is the intended outcome.

Procedural status / timeline (as provided)

  • Filed: November 14, 2024
  • House adoption and committee actions: February–March 2025 (multiple committee reports and amendments)
  • Senate amendments (SD1) and concurrence: April 2025
  • Final actions listed: Adopted in final form April 25, 2025; taken by Clerk of the House and presented to the Secretary of State May 5, 2025.
  • Companion: HR 24

Potential impact and notes

  • Primarily informational — aims to increase visitor awareness of laws protecting cultural and public sites and wildlife and to discourage desecration through a required acknowledgement on a form already completed by many arrivals.
  • Implementation will require administrative updates to the paper/digital declaration form and coordination with the Akamai Arrival Program (if/when rolled out). Fiscal effects are likely modest (form revision, web/app updates, outreach) but not specified in the text.
  • The resolution does not create new criminal penalties or regulatory authorities; it requests inclusion of acknowledgement language and interagency notification.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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