STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2246

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 3007
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Economic Development, to which was
referred S.B. No. 3007 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AGRICULTURE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to authorize the Department
of Agriculture to conduct a survey and sampling of swine farms to
determine the incidence of porcine respiratory and reproductive
syndrome (PRRS) and to establish procedures to certify swine
herds without the disease.

     Testimony in favor of this measure was submitted by the
Department of Agriculture, the College of Tropical Agriculture
and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Hawaii Farm
Bureau, Hawaii Pork Industry Association, Hawaii Egg Producers
Cooperative, and one individual.  The Office of Information
Practices submitted comments.

     Your Committee finds that surveys similar to the one in this
measure have found that forty to fifty per cent of swine herds in
the United States have been exposed to the PRRS virus.  It is
estimated that for herds acutely infected, producers lose between
$50 and $250 per sow.  Your Committee has heard that pig-to-pig
transmission is the most critical means of virus spread and
movement of pigs between herds affords significant risk.  The
proposed survey would sample approximately 4,200 swine from 261
herds statewide, and the certification established in this

 
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measure would have a positive long-term economic benefit for
Hawaii's pork industry.

     Your Committee has amended this measure to make the survey
mandatory, and to clarify the release of data collected as a
result.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Economic Development that is attached to this
report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose
of S.B. No. 3007, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass
Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 3007,
S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Economic
                                   Development,



                                   ______________________________
                                   LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair

 
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