Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Hawaii Commissioner of Agriculture
| Hawaii Commissioner of Agriculture | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Office Type: | Nonpartisan |
| Office website: | Official Link |
| Compensation: | $175,056 |
| 2025 FY Budget: | $56,187,270 |
| Term limits: | None |
| Structure | |
| Length of term: | 4 years coterminous with the governor |
| Selection Method: | Appointed by the governor |
| Current Officeholder(s) | |
Hawaii Commissioner of Agriculture
Sharon Hurd | |
| Other Hawaii Executive Offices | |
| Governor•Lieutenant Governor•Attorney General•Director of Finance•Auditor•Superintendent of Education•Agriculture Commissioner•Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs•Chairperson of Land and Natural Resources•Director of Labor and Industrial Relations•Public Utilities Commission | |
The Hawaii Commissioner of Agriculture is an appointed, executive position in the Hawaii state government. The department's main objectives are to preserve, promote and develop essential agricultural resources and infrastructure; to create and maximize opportunities for exporting; and facilitate growth of existing and new agricultural commodities and by-products. In addition, the department works to prevent the introduction and establishment of plants, animals and diseases that are detrimental to the state's agriculture industry and the environment.[1][2]
Current officeholder
The current Hawaii Commissioner of Agriculture is Sharon Hurd (nonpartisan). Hurd assumed office in 2023.
Authority
The Department of Agriculture's executive board and the Commissioner of Agriculture's powers, term of office, etc. are derived from Division 1, Title 4, Chapter 26, Part I, Section 26-16 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes.
Division 1, Title 4, Chapter 26, Part I, Section 26-16:
| §26-16 Department of agriculture. (a) The department of agriculture shall be headed by an executive board to be known as the board of agriculture. The board shall consist of ten members:
(1) One who shall be a resident of the county of Hawaii; (2) One who shall be a resident of the county of Maui; (3) One who shall be a resident of the county of Kauai; (4) Four at large; and (5) The chairperson of the board of land and natural resources; the director of business, economic development, and tourism; and the dean of the University of Hawaii college of tropical agriculture and human resources, or their designated representatives, who shall serve as ex officio voting members. |
Qualifications
Division 1, Title 4, Chapter 26, Part I, Section 26-16 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes establishes the qualifications of the members of the executive board. There are no separate qualifications for the chairperson/commissioner:
| The majority of the members of the board shall be from the agricultural community or the agricultural support sector.[3] |
Appointments
The chair of the Board of Agriculture is appointed by the governor and concurrently serves as the director of the Department of Agriculture.[4]
Vacancies
According to Division 1, Title 4, Chapter 26, Part I, Section 26-34 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, vacancies are filled for the unexpired terms thereof, subject to Article V, Section 6 of the Hawaii Constitution. This means the governor appoints a new commissioner with the advice and consent of the state Senate. If the vacancy occurs when the senate is not in session, the governor can granting a commission which expires at the end of the next session of the senate, unless the appointment is confirmed during that session. Any person appointed to a temporary commission who is not confirmed by the senate is ineligible from being temporarily appointed again.[5]
Duties
According to Division 1, Title 4, Chapter 26, Part I, Section 26-16 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, it is the commissioner's duty to, "identify problems related to agriculture and the appropriate state agencies and departments needed to solve the problem."
Additionally, the Department of Agriculture is tasked with:
- Promoting the conservation, development and utilization of agricultural resources
- Assisting farmers in Hawaii and others engaged in agriculture by research projects, dissemination of information, crop and livestock reporting service, market news service and any other means of improving the well-being of those engaged in agriculture and increasing the productivity of the lands
- Administering the programs relating to animal husbandry, entomology, farm credit, development and promotion of agricultural products and markets and the establishment and enforcement of the rules on the grading and labeling of agricultural products
- Administering the aquaculture program[6]
To view the organization chart, click here.
Division
As of January 15, 2021, there are nine main divisions to Hawaii's Department of Agriculture:[7]
- Administrative Services Office
- Agricultural Development
- Agricultural Loan
- Agricultural Resource Management
- Aquaculture Development Program
- Animal Industry
- Board of Agriculture
- Quality Assurance
- Plant Industry
The Chairperson's office also includes a deputy director, a public information officer and a planner. The Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC) also falls administratively under the Chairperson's Office.[8]
State budget
- See also: Hawaii state budget and finances
The Department of Agriculture's budget for Fiscal Year 2025 was $56,187,270.[9]
Compensation
- See also: Compensation of state executive officers
The salaries of elected and appointed executives in Hawaii are determined by the Hawaii Commission on Salaries, which was established by constitutional amendment in 2006. Passage of this amendment by the public added the following language to Article XVI of the state constitution:
Article XVI, Section 3.5 of the Hawaii Constitution
| Text of Section 3.5:
There shall be a commission on salaries as provided by law, which shall review and recommend salaries for the justices and judges of all state courts, members of the legislature, department heads or executive officers of the executive departments and the deputies or assistants to department heads of the executive departments as provided by law, excluding the University of Hawaii and the department of education. The commission shall also review and make recommendations for the salary of the administrative director of the State or equivalent position and the salary of the governor and the lieutenant governor. Any salary established pursuant to this section shall not be decreased during a term of office, unless by general law applying to all salaried officers of the State. Not later than the fortieth legislative day of the 2007 regular legislative session and every six years thereafter, the commission shall submit to the legislature its recommendations and then dissolve. The recommended salaries submitted shall become effective as provided in the recommendation, unless the legislature disapproves the entire recommendation as a whole by adoption of a concurrent resolution prior to adjournment sine die of the legislative session in which the recommendation is submitted; provided that any change in salary which becomes effective shall not apply to the legislature to which the recommendation for the change in salary was submitted. |
The commission consists of seven members selected by the governor (two seats), the President of the Hawaii State Senate (two seats), Speaker of the Hawaii House of Representatives (two seats) and the Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court (one seat). Commissioners meet every six years to evaluate salaries for executive, judicial and legislative officials. Their recommendations go into effect unless the Hawaii State Legislature votes to reject the entirety of the commission's final report. The commission last met in November 2012 and made recommendations for official salaries between 2013 and 2018.[10]
2023
In 2023, the officer's salary was $175,056, according to the Council of State Governments.[11]
2022
In 2022, the officer's salary was $154,812, according to the Council of State Governments.[12]
2021
In 2021, the commissioner received a salary of $154,812, according to the Council of State Governments.[13]
2020
In 2020, the commissioner’s salary was increased to $154,812, according to the Council of State Governments.[14]
2019
In 2019, the commissioner’s salary was increased to $147,444, according to the Council of State Governments.[15]
2018
In 2018, the commissioner’s salary was increased to $144,452, according to the Council of State Governments.[16]
2017
In 2017, the commissioner’s salary was increased to $141,720, according to the Council of State Governments.[17]
2016
In 2016, the commissioner’s salary was increased to $138,936, according to the Council of State Governments.[18]
2015
In 2015, the commissioner’s salary was increased to $136,212, according to the Council of State Governments.[19]
2014
In 2014, the commissioner received a salary of $133,536, according to the Council of State Governments.[20]
2013
In 2013, the commissioner was paid an estimated $103,512, according to the Knowledge Center's Book of States 2013.[21]
Historical officeholders
Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for chronological lists of historical officeholders; information for the Hawaii Commissioner of Agriculture has not yet been added because the information was unavailable on the relevant state official websites, or we are currently in the process of formatting the list for this office. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.
Contact information
Hawaii Department of Agriculture
1428 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96814
- Phone: 808-973-9560
- Fax: 808-973-9613
- E-mail: hdoa.info@hawaii.gov
See also
| Hawaii | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Hawaii Department of Agriculture
- Chairperson's Office Website
- Hawaii's Board of Agriculture website
Footnotes
- ↑ Hawaii Department of Agriculture, "About" accessed January 14, 2021
- ↑ Hawaii Department of Agriculture, "Chairperson" accessed January 14, 2021
- ↑ Hawaii State Legislature, "§26-16 Department of agriculture," accessed January 15, 2021
- ↑ Department of Agriculture, "Chairperson" accessed July 27, 2012
- ↑ Hawaii State Legislature, "§26-16 Department of agriculture," accessed January 15, 2021
- ↑ Hawaii Revised Statutes, "Division 1, Title 4, Chapter 26, Part 1, Section 26-16," accessed January 15, 2021
- ↑ Hawaii Department of Agriculture, "Organization" accessed January 15, 2021
- ↑ Hawaii Department of Agriculture, "Chairperson's Office" accessed January 15, 2021
- ↑ Department of Budget and Finance, "The FB 2023-25 Executive Biennium Budget," accessed January 16, 2025
- ↑ Commission on Salaries, "Report and Recommendations to the 2013 Legislature," January 15, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2023 Table 4.11: Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed January 15, 2025
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2022 Table 4.11: Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," provided to Ballotpedia by CSG personnel
- ↑ Issuu, "The Book of the States 2021," accessed September 22, 2022
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2020," accessed January 16, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2019," accessed January 16, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2017," accessed January 16, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2017," accessed January 16, 2021
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2016," accessed August 27, 2016
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries, 2015," accessed August 27, 2016
- ↑ Council of State Governments, "Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed November 14, 2014
- ↑ Knowledge Center, "Book of the States 2013, Chapter 4: State Executive Branch, Table 4.11," accessed July 25, 2013
| ||||||||||||||
