REPORT TITLE:
Farm


DESCRIPTION:
Requires the government to show whether its decisions will impact
agricultural operations rather than have the burden on farmers to
show that their operations are not a nuisance to others.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        3198
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                STATE OF
HAWAII                                                     
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  Section 165-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 2 amended to read as follows:
 
 3      "§165-1 Findings and purpose.  The legislature finds that:
 
 4      (1)  Agricultural activities have a primary relationship to
 
 5           the maintenance of the quality of life and maintaining
 
 6           a desirable standard of living in Hawaii;
 
 7      (2)  Farming is the highest priority use of those areas best
 
 8           suited for agricultural production;
 
 9      (3)  Public actions which adversely impact agriculture
 
10           should be avoided without an ample finding of public
 
11           need; and
 
12      (4)  Preservation of the State's farmlands is clearly in the
 
13           public interest.
 
14 It shall be state policy to conserve, protect, and enhance the
 
15 State's agricultural economic base for production of food and
 
16 nonfood products, and to preserve these resources for their
 
17 natural and ecological values for open spaces and aesthetic
 
18 purposes.  It shall also be state policy to encourage the
 
19 improvement of agricultural operations in order to maintain
 

 
Page 2                                                     3198
                                     S.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 agriculture as a viable industry and an important contributor to
 
 2 Hawaii's economy.
 
 3      The legislature further finds that when nonagricultural land
 
 4 uses extend into agricultural areas, farming operations often
 
 5 become the subject of nuisance lawsuits that may result in the
 
 6 premature removal of lands from agricultural use and may
 
 7 discourage future investments in agriculture.  The legislature
 
 8 also finds that under the Hawaii State Planning Act, it is a
 
 9 declared policy of this State to "foster attitudes and activities
 
10 conducive to maintaining agriculture as a major sector of
 
11 Hawaii's economy."  Accordingly, it is the purpose of this
 
12 chapter to reduce the loss to the State of its agricultural
 
13 resources by limiting the circumstances under which farming
 
14 operations may be deemed to be a nuisance."
 
15      SECTION 2.  Section 165-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
16 amended to read as follows:
 
17      "§165-4 Right to farm.(a)  No court, official, public
 
18 servant, or public employee shall declare any farming operation a
 
19 nuisance for any reason if all of the following have been proven:
 
20      (1)  That during the twelve-month period preceding the
 
21           filing of the nuisance complaint with a court or other
 
22           adjudicative public body, the farming operation
 
23           complied with statutes, ordinances, regulations, or
 

 
Page 3                                                     3198
                                     S.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1           rules relevant to the nuisance complaint; and
 
 2      (2)  That the farming operation has used reasonable care in
 
 3           conducting its operation.
 
 4      (b)  Notwithstanding a farming operation's satisfaction of
 
 5 subsection (a)(1) and (2), a farming operation may be declared a
 
 6 nuisance if:
 
 7      (1)  The farming operation or any aspect thereof has been
 
 8           previously determined to be injurious to public health
 
 9           or safety by the department of health, the department
 
10           of agriculture, or a court of competent jurisdiction;
 
11           and
 
12      (2)  The complainant establishes by a preponderance of the
 
13           evidence that the alleged nuisance resulted from the
 
14           injurious operation or aspect thereof.  Any
 
15           determination of injuriousness shall be in writing and
 
16           shall set forth the bases for the determination.
 
17      (c)  All state agencies, boards, or commissions, before any
 
18 rule or other restriction is adopted, shall make public and post
 
19 in writing whether or not those restrictions will impact on
 
20 agricultural operations based in the area.  Further, if the rule
 
21 or other restriction is determined to have a potential impact on
 
22 agriculture, the responsible agency, in consultation with the
 
23 department of agriculture, shall conduct an impact assessment to
 

 
Page 4                                                     3198
                                     S.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 determine the extent of the impact, including the effect on
 
 2 future land use and related environmental impacts, including
 
 3 costs, and submit to the legislature a copy of their findings
 
 4 forty-five days prior to adoption.
 
 5      (d)  All county agencies, boards, or commissions, before any
 
 6 rule or other restriction is adopted, shall make public and post
 
 7 in writing whether or not those restrictions will impact on
 
 8 agricultural operations based in the area.  Further, if the rule
 
 9 or other restriction is determined to have a potential impact on
 
10 agriculture, the responsible agency, in consultation with the
 
11 department of agriculture, shall conduct an impact assessment to
 
12 determine the extent of such impact, including the effect on
 
13 future land use and related environmental impacts, including
 
14 costs and submit to the respective mayor and chairperson of the
 
15 county council a copy of their findings forty-five days prior to
 
16 adoption.
 
17      (e)  An interagency committee on agricultural protection is
 
18 created within the department of agriculture for administrative
 
19 purposes.  The directors or chairpersons of the following
 
20 agencies, or their representatives, shall serve as members of the
 
21 committee:
 
22      (1)  The department of land and natural resources;
 
23      (2)  The land use commission;
 

 
Page 5                                                     3198
                                     S.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      (3)  The office of planning;
 
 2      (4)  The department of business, economic development, and
 
 3           tourism;
 
 4      (5)  The department of health;
 
 5      (6)  The department of transportation;
 
 6      (7)  The department of budget and finance;
 
 7      (8)  The department of transportation;
 
 8      (9)  The department of labor and industrial relations;
 
 9     (10)  The mayor of the affected county; and
 
10     (11)  The department of agriculture.
 
11      The chairperson of the board of agriculture or the
 
12 chairperson's representative shall serve as chairperson.  The
 
13 interagency committee on agricultural protection shall prepare
 
14 policy statements and working agreements every three years for
 
15 each of the agencies named in this section specifying the policy
 
16 of that agency toward agricultural protection and the
 
17 administrative process used to implement that policy.  The policy
 
18 statements and working agreements shall be adopted as rules for
 
19 the administration of the program.  The policy statement shall
 
20 include an analysis of the impact of agricultural land
 
21 conversions attributed to the agency's programs, rules,
 
22 procedures, and operations.  The policy statement shall also
 
23 detail measures that can be implemented to mitigate conversions
 

 
Page 6                                                     3198
                                     S.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 to the maximum extent practicable.  The state agency policy
 
 2 statements and working agreements on agricultural protection
 
 3 shall be submitted every three years to the governor and the
 
 4 legislature and shall be reviewed and approved by the department
 
 5 of agriculture.  The state agency policy statements and working
 
 6 agreements become law upon this submission to the governor
 
 7 notwithstanding chapter 91.
 
 8      (f)  Except as provided in a working agreement between the
 
 9 chairperson of the board of agriculture and each state agency
 
10 listed in subsection (d), when any state agency participates in a
 
11 state funded capital improvement project which will lead to
 
12 conversion of farm land to nonagricultural purposes, the agency
 
13 shall deliver written notification of the project to the
 
14 chairperson of the board of agriculture.  The chairperson of the
 
15 board of agriculture, in consultation with the board of
 
16 agriculture, shall determine whether the project is in compliance
 
17 with the agency's policy statements and working agreements on
 
18 farmland preservation and shall conduct a study of the
 
19 agricultural impacts if the project is not in compliance.  No
 
20 agency may commit state funds for land acquisition or
 
21 construction unless it is provided for in an exception contained
 
22 in that agency's working agreement or until the study of
 
23 agricultural impacts has been completed by the department of
 

 
Page 7                                                     3198
                                     S.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 agriculture.  If the chairperson of the board of agriculture
 
 2 determines that a study of the agricultural impacts is necessary,
 
 3 the department of agriculture shall complete the study within
 
 4 forty-five days of written notification by a state agency that it
 
 5 is considering a project which will result in conversion of
 
 6 farmland to a nonagricultural purpose.  A copy of any study of
 
 7 agricultural impacts made pursuant to this section shall be
 
 8 submitted to the governor, to the president and minority leader
 
 9 of the senate and the speaker and minority leader of the house of
 
10 representatives, and to the director or chairperson of each state
 
11 agency listed in subsection (d)."
 
12      SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
13 New statutory material is underscored.
 
14      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
15 
 
16                              INTRODUCED BY:______________________