§150A-5  Conditions of importation.  Theimportation into the State of any of the following articles, viz.,nursery-stock, tree, shrub, herb, vine, cut-flower, cutting, graft, scion, bud,seed, leaf, root, or rhizome; nut, fruit, or vegetable; grain, cereal, orlegume in the natural or raw state; moss, hay, straw, dry-grass, or otherforage; unmanufactured log, limb, or timber, or any other plant-growth orplant-product, unprocessed or in the raw state; soil; microorganisms; livebird, reptile, nematode, insect, or any other animal in any stage ofdevelopment (that is in addition to the so-called domestic animal, thequarantine of which is provided for in chapter 142); box, vehicle, baggage, orany other container in which such articles have been transported or any packingmaterial used in connection therewith shall be made in the manner hereinafterset forth:

(1)  Notification of arrival.  Any person who receivesfor transport or brings or causes to be brought to the State as freight, airfreight, baggage, or otherwise, for the purpose of debarkation or entrytherein, or as ship's stores, any of the foregoing articles, shall, immediatelyupon the arrival thereof, notify the department, in writing, of the arrival,giving the waybill number, container number, name and address of the consignor,name and address of the consignee or the consignee's agent in the State, marks,number of packages, description of contents of each package, port at whichladen, and any other information that may be necessary to locate or identifythe same, and shall hold such articles at the pier, airport, or any other placewhere they are first received or discharged, in such a manner that they willnot spread or be likely to spread any infestation or infection of insects ordiseases that may be present until inspection and examination can be made bythe inspector to determine whether or not any article, or any portion thereof,is infested or infected with or contains any pest.  The department may adoptrules to require identification of specific articles on negotiable andnon-negotiable warehouse receipts, bills of lading, or other documents of titlefor inspection of pests.  In addition, the department shall adopt rules todesignate restricted articles that shall require:

(A)  A permit from the department in advance ofimportation; or

(B)  A department letter of authorization orregistration in advance of importation. 

The restrictedarticles shall include but not be limited to certain microorganisms or livinginsects.  Failure to obtain the permit, letter of authorization, orregistration in advance is a violation of this section;

(2)  Individual passengers, officers, and crew.

(A)  It shall be the responsibility of thetransportation company to distribute, prior to the debarkation of passengersand baggage, the State of Hawaii plant and animal declaration form to eachpassenger, officer, and crew member of any aircraft or vessel originating inthe continental United States or its possessions or from any other area notunder the jurisdiction of the appropriate federal agency in order that thepassenger, officer, or crew member can comply with the directions andrequirements appearing thereon.  All passengers, officers, and crew members,whether or not they are bringing or causing to be brought for entry into theState the articles listed on the form, shall complete the declaration, exceptthat one adult member of a family may complete the declaration for other familymembers.  Any person who defaces the declaration form required under thissection, gives false information, fails to declare restricted articles in theperson's possession or baggage, or fails to declare in cargo manifests is inviolation of this section;

(B)  Completed forms shall be collected by thetransportation company and be delivered, immediately upon arrival, to theinspector at the first airport or seaport of arrival.  Failure to distribute orcollect declaration forms or to immediately deliver completed forms is aviolation of this section; and

(C)  It shall be the responsibility of theofficers and crew of an aircraft or vessel originating in the continentalUnited States or its possessions or from any other area not under thejurisdiction of the appropriate federal agency to immediately report allsightings of any plants and animals to the plant quarantine branch.  Failure tocomply with this requirement is a violation of this section;

(3)  Plant and animal declaration form.  The formshall include directions for declaring domestic and other animals cited in chapter142, in addition to the articles enumerated in this chapter;

(4)  Labels.  Each container in which any of theabove-mentioned articles are imported into the State shall be plainly andlegibly marked, in a conspicuous manner and place, with the name and address ofthe shipper or owner forwarding or shipping the same, the name or mark of theperson to whom the same is forwarded or shipped or the person's agent, the nameof the country, state, or territory and locality therein where the product wasgrown or produced, and a statement of the contents of the container.  Uponfailure to comply with this paragraph, the importer or carrier is in violationof this section;

(5)  Authority to inspect.  Whenever the inspector hasgood cause to believe that the provisions of this chapter are being violated,the inspector may:

(A)  Enter and inspect any aircraft, vessel, orother carrier at any time after its arrival within the boundaries of the State,whether offshore, at the pier, or at the airport, for the purpose ofdetermining whether any of the articles or pests enumerated in this chapter orrules adopted thereto, is present;

(B)  Enter into or upon any pier, warehouse,airport, or any other place in the State where any of the above-mentionedarticles are moved or stored, for the purpose of ascertaining, by inspectionand examination, whether or not any of the articles is infested or infectedwith any pest or disease or contaminated with soil or contains prohibitedplants or animals; and

(C)  Inspect any baggage or personal effects ofdisembarking passengers, officers, and crew members on aircraft or vesselsarriving in the State to ascertain if they contain any of the articles or pestsenumerated in this chapter.  No baggage or other personal effects of the passengersor crew members shall be released until the baggage or effects have beenpassed.

Baggage or cargo inspection shall be made atthe discretion of the inspector, on the pier, vessel, or aircraft or in anyquarantine or inspection area.

Whenever the inspector has good cause tobelieve that the provisions of this chapter are being violated, the inspectormay require that any box, package, suitcase, or any other container carried asship's stores, cargo, or otherwise by any vessel or aircraft moving between thecontinental United States and Hawaii or between the Hawaiian Islands, be openedfor inspection to determine whether any article or pest prohibited by thischapter or by rules adopted pursuant thereto is present.  It is a violation ofthis section if any prohibited article or any pest or any plant, fruit, orvegetable infested with plant pests is found;

(6)  Request for importation and inspection.  Inaddition to requirements of the United States customs authorities concerninginvoices or other formalities incident to importations into the State, theimporter shall be required to file a written statement with the department,signed by the importer or the importer's agent, setting forth the importer'sdesire to import certain of the above-mentioned articles into the State and:

(A)  Giving the following additionalinformation:

(i)  The kind (scientific name), quantity, anddescription;

(ii)  The locality where same were grown orproduced;

(iii)  Certification that all animals to beimported are the progeny of captive populations or have been held in captivityfor a period of one year immediately prior to importation or have beenspecifically approved for importation by the board;

(iv)  The port from which the same were lastshipped;

(v)  The name of the shipper; and

(vi)  The name of the consignee; and

(B)  Containing:

(i)  A request that the department, by its dulyauthorized agent, examine the articles described;

(ii)  An agreement by the importer to beresponsible for all costs, charges, or expenses; and

(iii)  A waiver of all claims for damages incidentto the inspection or the fumigation, disinfection, quarantine, or destructionof the articles, or any of them, as hereinafter provided, if any treatment isdeemed necessary.

Failure or refusal to file a statement,including the agreement and waiver, is a violation of this section and may, inthe discretion of the department, be sufficient cause for refusing to permitthe entry of the articles into the State;

(7)  Place of inspection.  If, in the judgment of theinspector, it is deemed necessary or advisable to move any of theabove-mentioned articles, or any portion thereof, to a place more suitable forinspection than the pier, airport, or any other place where they are first receivedor discharged, the inspector is authorized to do so.  All costs and expensesincident to the movement and transportation of the articles to such place shallbe borne by the importer or the importer's agent. If the importer, importer'sagent, or transportation company requests inspection of sealed containers ofthe above-mentioned articles at locations other than where the articles arefirst received or discharged and the department determines that inspection atsuch place is appropriate, the department may require payment of costsnecessitated by these inspections, including overtime costs;

(8)  Disinfection or quarantine.  If, upon inspection,any article received or brought into the State for the purpose of debarkationor entry therein is found to be infested or infected or there is reasonablecause to presume that it is infested or infected and the infestation orinfection can, in the judgment of the inspector, be eradicated, a treatmentshall be given such article.  The treatment shall be at the expense of theowner or the owner's agent, and the treatment shall be as prescribed by thedepartment.  The article shall be held in quarantine at the expense of theowner or the owner's agent at a satisfactory place approved by the departmentfor a sufficient length of time to determine that eradication has beenaccomplished.  If the infestation or infection is of such nature or extent thatit cannot be effectively and completely eradicated, or if it is a potentiallydestructive pest or it is not widespread in the State, or after treatment it isdetermined that the infestation or infection is not completely eradicated, orif the owner or the owner's agent refuses to allow the article to be treated orto be responsible for the cost of treatment and quarantine, the article, or anyportion thereof, together with all packing and containers, may, at thediscretion of the inspector, be destroyed or sent out of the State at theexpense of the owner or the owner's agent.  Such destruction or exclusion shallnot be made the basis of a claim against the department or the inspector fordamage or loss incurred;

(9)  Disposition.  Upon completion of inspection,either at the time of arrival or at any time thereafter should any article beheld for inspection, treatment, or quarantine, the inspector shall affix to thearticle or the container or to the delivery order in a conspicuous placethereon, a tag, label, or stamp to indicate that the article has been inspectedand passed.  This action shall constitute a permit to bring the article intothe State; and

(10)  Ports of entry.  None of the articles mentionedin this section shall be allowed entry into the State except through theairports and seaports in the State designated and approved by the board. [L1973, c 69, pt of §1; am L 1974, c 232, §1; am L 1977, c 114, §2; am L 1980, c265, §2; am L 1985, c 133, §1; gen ch 1985; am L 1990, c 243, §2; am L 1992, c229, §3; am L 2000, c 211, §3; am L 2005, c 64, §2]