1. MAUI GMO ORDINANCE – UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY AND ASK FOR!
Mark Sheehan, a member of the SHAKA Movement, told Civil Beat the group is planning to appeal.
“We are very disappointed that the constitutional rights of 23,000 people
here are being set aside by a couple of judges in Honolulu who I think
have completely misread the case,” Sheehan said. “This law was written
specifically because there was no state or federal law regulating
genetically modified organisms … The state and the county have the
responsibility to protect the health of the environment, which they’re not
doing.”
Source: Honolulu Civil Beat
http://www.civilbeat.com/2015/06/federal-judge-strikes-down-maui-countys-gmo-farming-
moratorium/
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF HAWAII
Robert Ito Farm, Inc.; Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, Maui County; Molokai Chamber of
Commerce; Monsanto Company; Agrigenetics, Inc.; Concerned Citizens of Molokai and Maui;
Friendly Isle Auto Parts & Supplies, Inc.; New Horizon Enterprises, Inc., dba Makoa Trucking
and Services; Hikiola Cooperative, Plaintiffs vs. County Of Maui, Defendant and Alika Atay;
Lorrin Pang; Mark Sheehan; Bonnie Marsh; Lei`Ohu Ryder; and Shaka Movement, Intervenor-
Defendants. Alika Atay, et al., Plaintiffs, vs. County Of Maui; Dow Agrosciences LLC, et al.,
Defendants.
Civil No. 14-00511 Chief Judge Susan Oki Mollway/ Magistrate Barry M. Kurren.
Order Determining that The County of Maui GMO Ordinance is
Preempted and Exceeds the County’s Authority.
INTRODUCTION
Is a County of Maui Ordinance banning genetically engineered (“GE”)
activities and/or genetically modified organisms (“GMOs”) preempted by
federal and/or state law? Does the Ordinance exceed the County’s
authority? Those are the questions that the present order addresses.

2. As this court noted at the hearing on the motions now before the court,
none of the motions asks this court to determine whether GE activities or
GMOs are good, bad, beneficial, or dangerous. Nor do the pending
motions ask this court to address the value of voter initiatives to adopt
laws such as the Ordinance.
The court recognizes the importance of questions about whether GE
activities and GMOs pose risks to human health, the environment, and the
economy, and about how citizens may participate in democratic
processes. But any court is a reactive body that addresses matters
before it rather than reaching out to grab hold of whatever matters
may catch a judge’s fancy because the matters are interesting,
important, or of great concern to many people. This order is not an
attempt by this court to pass judgment on any benefit or detriment
posed by GE activities or GMOs.
Notwithstanding the concern that many people have expressed on
both sides of these issues, and the visible (and sometimes audible)
passion of members of the substantial audiences that have attended
hearings in this case, those issues are not before this court on the
present motions, and those who want those issues addressed must
seek means other than the present order to accomplish that. Similarly
not before the court at this time is the question of whether it might be
a good idea to allow the County to regulate GE activities and GMOs.
The motions now before this court can be ruled on based on an
examination of the laws in this area, without regard to political, medical,
economic, or other social concerns, as important as those are. Having
examined the applicable law, this court concludes that the Ordinance is
indeed preempted by federal and state law and does exceed the
County’s authority. The court therefore declares the Ordinance
invalid and unenforceable.
Chief Judge Susan Oki Mollway and Magistrate Barry M. Kurren are outstanding jusrists.
Appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, San Francisco, California to reverse or remand
given the substance and thoroughness of the US District Court's decision, first and correctly deciding
on the “procedural” issue, is emotionally attractive.
The Chief Judge Mollway's decision is both instructive and insightful.

3. Recommended is a revisiting the past process and forging a new path. Highly questionable and
yet to be fully answered is whether the State of Hawaii and the County of Maui, through the passage
of clear and unambiguous laws, has fulfilled and continues to its public duty to protect the people.
Artfully crafted, manuevered, argued, and collectively focused by the legal teams, including
the County of Maui, the case was decided on the narrow and pivitol issue of Pre-Emption.
The Court's decision was, “based on an examination of the laws in this area, without
regard to political, medical, economic, or other social concerns, as important as those are.”
Maui County Isn’t Sticking Up For Its GMO Farming Moratorium
A Maui County spokesman said that it’s up to the SHAKA Movement to defend the bill
now that the group has intervened in a lawsuit.
“Maui County officials had previously promised that the county would defend the bill, despite Mayor
Alan Arakawa’s public disdain for it.
“We want to assure people that we’re taking this initiative very seriously,” said Managing Director
Keith Regan in a statement after the moratorium was approved. “The people have spoken and the
county is obligated to carry out their will.”
Maui County isn’t defending a moratorium on genetically modified farming despite more than 23,000
voters approving the bill last fall.
In a court filing Friday, the county said that it is taking “no position” on a motion for summary
judgment filed by attorneys representing global seed companies Monsanto and Dow AgroSciences, as
well as several Maui County businesses and organizations.
“The people of Maui passed this law through the proper ballot initiative power; the county attorneys,
as public servants, have a duty to defend it,” said George Kimbrell, attorney with Center for Food
Safety, in a press release. “This is highly unusual and reveals the power the pesticide industry has on
the island.””
Source: Honolulu Civil Beat.
http://www.civilbeat.com/2015/01/maui-county-isnt-sticking-up-for-its-gmo-farming-moratorium/