Kauai County Council Meets 9 Hours Re. Override Of Mayor's Veto Of Anti-Transgenic Rule

[hatrack]

LIHUE >> The Kauai County Council met for nearly nine hours Thursday without making a decision on whether or not to override Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.'s veto of a bill to regulate pesticides and genetically modified crops. The council recessed until 11 a.m. Saturday after an emotionally charged meeting in which more than 200 people attended and the majority of people who testified pleaded for the Council to override the veto.

Bill 2491 calls for mandatory disclosure of genetically modified crops and pesticide use and prohibits those crops near schools, dwellings, medical facilities, public roadways and waterways. Large agribusinesses would also be required to provide annual public reports on genetically modified crops to the county Office of Economic Development and state Department of Agriculture.

Companies affected by the bill are Syngeta, DuPont Pioneer, BASF and Dow AgroSciences as well as Kauai Coffee, the largest coffee grower in the state.

The Council voted 6-1 to approve the measure on Oct. 16. Carvalho vetoed the bill on Oct. 31, saying he supported the intent but that he had legal concerns. In a letter to the Council, he said the state and federal government pre-empts the county from enacting laws on regulating pesticides and GMOs.

EDIT

http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/20131114_Kauai_Council_votes_to_recess_without_vote_on_veto_override.html

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

1. I got an email saying they did override the veto... I would Rec. if I could,

but for some reason now I can't do that anymore, on any post. When I click the 'rec' button the page just jumps to the top, and the number doesn't change. I used to get six or seven cookies when I logged in, and now I only get two. I wonder what that is about.

The bill didn't ban growing, just labeling and declaring what is being grown and used by Corp. Ag. It is a move in the best direction.