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The mayor of the Hawaiian island of Kauai this week vetoed a groundbreaking bill<\/a> that would have mandated farms to disclose pesticide use and the presence of genetically modified<\/a> crops.<\/p>\n The veto can be overridden by the Kauai County Council with a minimum of five votes. The council approved the bill Oct. 16 in a 6 to 1 vote.<\/p>\n Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho Jr. said in a press release<\/a> that he felt he had no choice but to veto the bill on legal grounds. <\/p>\n “I have always said I agree with the intent of this bill to provide for pesticide use disclosure, create meaningful buffer zones and conduct a study on the health and environmental issues relating to pesticide use on Kauai,” the mayor said. “However, I believe strongly that this bill is legally flawed. That being the case, I had no choice but to veto.”<\/p>\n GMO Free Kaua’i<\/a>, which supported the measure, noted the more than 50,000 signatures in support of the bill.<\/p>\n “Apparently the mayor feels this is not a democracy, but a dictatorship where the will of the people and democratic process is meaningless to him,” the group said on its Facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n The measure applies to farms that use more than five pounds or 15 gallons of restricted-use pesticides annually. The island hosts 15,000 acres<\/a> of crop lands that are used by biotech companies and chemical manufacturers to test their products.<\/p>\n The bill mandates:<\/p>\n Violators could face up to one year in jail or up to $25,000 a day in fines per offense.<\/p>\n During the hearing that preceded the county council vote to pass the bill, the mayor voiced concerns that the bill would put a financial burden on Kauai, estimating that $1.3 million would need to be appropriated by next year to implement some aspects.<\/p>\n Attorneys for the biotech companies had said the bill unfairly targeted big agriculture and allowed for “illegal taking<\/a>” of company property.<\/p>\n![\"gmocorn\"](\"http:\/\/ecowatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/gmocorn.jpg\")
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