Days after the Legislature appropriated nearly $20 million to boost Hawaii’s fight against invasive pests, lawmakers rightly called the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) to task — grilling officials over the agency’s weak effort to control stinging, fast-spreading little fire ants and other invasive species that threaten to overtake and overwhelm our state.

House Bill 2619, containing the $20 million, designates HDOA as lead agency in coordinating the state’s biosecurity efforts. But no amount of money can make a difference without a department head who is both willing and able to take the lead on this issue. It’s imperative that Gov. Josh Green, who called HB 2619 “landmark legislation,” directs Board of Agriculture chair Sharon Hurd to implement rapid follow-through and efficient use of this potentially game-changing appropriation.

In the governor’s words, “The pests that we are dealing with now are having a devastating impact across the state.” Indeed. Stinging little fire ants pose a hazard to household pets and wildlife, as well as ag operations, and have even infiltrated homes, inflicting painful bites on children in their own beds. Coconut rhinoceros beetles could decimate Hawaii’s commercial palms; even worse, they threaten palms and groves with irreplaceable cultural importance and historical significance to Hawaii.

Little fire ants were recently detected in nursery plants donated for sale at Punahou Carnival, which could have created a hub for catastrophic introduction to multiple yards and gardens if the pests hadn’t been discovered. But this was far from the first time nursery plants were found to be infested, and HDOA and Hurd have consistently declined to reveal the vendors. This must change.

HB 2619 explicitly puts disclosure of information within HDOA’s jurisdiction, requiring the agency to report pest infestation updates in real-time on its website, with locations and, crucially, action taken — and to include the names of staff and organizations involved. This must be a non-negotiable standard practice: Rapid disclosure of pest detections followed by a rapid, “best available technology” response, as the statute specifies.

A major flaw in HDOA policy remains unaddressed, and that is its failure to follow through when nurseries are suspected of moving infested plants intraisland. This was a focal point of a Senate hearing Thursday, at which senators called out HDOA for “stalling” on action to stop distribution of infested plants and materials.

The issue had prompted an outpouring of criticism and concern in November, as others involved in monitoring invasive species protested HDOA’s actions to stall, then kill already drafted and approved rules to toughen little fire ants response. At that time, Hurd’s response to questions from Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole cited objections from “the agriculture industry” to intraisland inspections, and stated that ag industry reps called the suppressed rules a “deal breaker” — as if “the industry” controlled invasive species policy. That’s a completely unacceptable and deeply troubling stance, given repeated, alarming reports of new infestations.

In November, Hurd also pointed to a need for funding and employees dedicated to pest control to make HDOA more effective. The Legislature just came through, in spades. Results are now expected.

“If we’re going to spend (the $20 million) … and we’re just going to allow all the bad actors to flaunt state law, then maybe that was a misallocation of resources,” Keohokalole said Thursday. That can’t be allowed.

HDOA must get cracking, with explicit rules to ensure it acts effectively and on all fronts to stop the spread of invasive pests in Hawaii. Utmost transparency and a sense of urgency are required. There’s no more time to waste by failing to act.