Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Agriculture and Public Safety and Military Affairs, to which was referred H.B. No. 57 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to make permanent Act 305, Session Laws of Hawaii 1999 (Act 305), which allows privately-funded industrial hemp research to be conducted in the State when the Department of Public Safety issues a controlled substance registration and the United States Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, issues a federally-controlled substance registration for research on the agronomic potential of industrial hemp.

ILWU Local 142, Maui Pineapple Company, Ltd., Resource Conservation Alliance, Dr. Bonner's Magic Soaps, Atlas Corporation, and several individuals testified in support of the measure. The Honolulu Police Department testified in opposition to the measure.

Your Committees note that according to the Hawaii Industrial Hemp Research Project's quarterly report dated October 7, 2000, "The mandate of Act 305, to investigate the potential of industrial hemp as an alternative crop in Hawaii, has been fulfilled." If this statement is accurate, your Committees question the need to make Act 305 permanent. In addition, it is also your Committees' understanding from testimony presented in discussion that at least four or five more years will be needed to complete the study on industrial hemp. Given these conflicting statements, it is the intent of your Committees to address these statements, and in the meantime, enable the facilitation of this bill to the House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.

Your Committees have amended this bill by:

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Agriculture and Public Safety and Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 57, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 57, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.