Compost reimbursement program
HRS §141-16
in effect141-16. Compost reimbursement program
(a) There is established within the department a compost reimbursement program to provide cost reimbursements to farming operations and landscaping operations in the State for the purchase of compost.
(b) The compost reimbursement program shall
assist farming operations and landscaping operations in meeting the costs of
purchasing compost from a certified processor, dealer, retailer, or wholesaler
licensed to do business in the State.
(c) Applications for cost reimbursements shall
be submitted on a form furnished by the department and shall be filed with
accompanying documentation of the costs of purchasing compost pursuant to
subsection (d); provided that:
(1) The applicant shall indemnify and hold harmless
the State and its officers, agents, and employees from all claims arising out
of or resulting from the compost purchased; and
(2) The department may request an applicant to
provide necessary information for the purposes of verifying the size or sale
weight, as applicable, and amount of compost purchased.
(d) Documentation of compost costs requested
by the department shall be filed for compost purchased within the fiscal year
immediately preceding the filing.
(e) Funds shall be disbursed upon approval on
an annual basis by the department to the farming operation or landscaping
operation for up to fifty per cent of the costs incurred for the purchase of
the compost.
(f) The department shall aggregate the total
reimbursement applications pursuant to this section and shall divide and
distribute the available funds on a first-come, first-served basis; provided
that no single farming operation or landscaping operation shall receive a
reimbursement totaling more than $50,000 per year.
(g) The compost reimbursement program shall be
overseen by a compost reimbursement program manager, which shall be a
full-time, permanent position exempt from chapters 76 and 89. The compost
reimbursement program manager shall possess a requisite level of knowledge and
expertise in the area of program management necessary to carry out the duties
of the position.
The compost reimbursement program manager
shall:
(1) Facilitate the division and distribution of
available funds for reimbursement; and
(2) Manage the day-to-day coordination of the compost
reimbursement program.
(h) Any action taken by the department
pursuant to this section shall be exempt from the rulemaking requirements of
section 91-3.
(i) The department shall submit an annual
progress report on the compost reimbursement program to the legislature no
later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session.
(j) As used in this section:
"Compost" means the product of a
composting process, including the receipt of materials, primary processing,
decomposition activities, and final processing for sale and marketing, in which
organic materials are biologically decomposed under controlled conditions to
produce a stable, humus-like mulch or soil amendment.
"Department" means the department of
agriculture and biosecurity.
"Farming operation" has the same
meaning as in section 165-2.
"Landscaping operation" means a
landscaping contractor licensed under chapter 444.
"Organic materials" includes pre- and
post-consumer food waste, waste from animal food processing operations, green
waste, crop residues, and waste from vegetable food processing operations and
similar materials.
[L 2022, c 302, §2; am L 2025, c
236, §17]
Source: Hawaii State Legislature (capitol.hawaii.gov), via Internet Archive capturesURL: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol03_Ch0121-0200D/HRS0141/HRS_0141-0016.htmFetched: 11/10/2026