In February, the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, Office of the Chair, entered into a $250,000 non-bid contract with Sunrise Strategies USA LLC. The contract was to take effect March 7 of this year and run through September 6, 2027.
The description: “Specialized Legislative Process Advisory, Training, Facilitation, and Public Outreach Support Services on Agriculture and Biosecurity.”
On March 16, Environment Hawaiʻi filed a Uniform Information Practices Act request, seeking a copy of the contract, the scope of work, and copies of invoices, if any, submitted by the contractor.
On March 30, Janelle Saneishi, the department’s longtime public information officer, replied, providing the contract as well as notice that, as of March 16 – the same day the department received the UIPA request – the contract had been cancelled.
Saneishi also included a copy of the scope of services. The very first task listed was “Legislative Process Advisory and Education (Internal Support).” This included “monitoring and summarizing publicly available Hawaiʻi state legislative and administrative developments related to department priorities for internal planning purposes,” “preparing internal informational briefing materials …,” and “facilitating strategy discussions with department leadership and designated staff.” Also, the contractor was to provide a “legislative session summary” and “annual recommendations and lessons-learned report, once during the term, timing [to be] coordinated with the department.”
Other services included “developing messaging frameworks and key message guidance for department staff use, including talking points, FAQs, and audience-specific message maps,” and “media readiness support for department leadership and staff.”
Under the heading “Legislative Interaction and Scope Limitation,” there’s the statement: “No lobbying under this agreement.” The contract “does not authorize or require contractor to engage in lobbying activities on behalf of the department.”
The original notice of the contract was posted on HANDS, the Hawaiʻi Awards & Notices Data System. Any mention of the contract has now been removed.
Sunrise Strategies was organized in February 2025; its sole member is Oceania Marketing Group, LLC. The two principals of Oceania Marketing are Jacob Henderson and Devin Gates.
—Patricia Tummons
Bernie Walp
Absolutely fascinating. Did they offer a reason for cancelling the contract?