Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Agriculture, to which was referred S.B. No. 640 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to provide criminal penalties for the destruction of crops grown for personal, commercial, or research purposes.

Your Committee received testimony in favor of this measure from the Department of Agriculture, University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, Pineapple Growers Association of Hawaii, PIONEER HI-BRED INTERNATIONAL, INC., and Hawaiian Alliance for Responsible Technology & Science.

Your Committee finds that the number of intentional crop destruction incidents is increasing. Recently, vandals destroyed University of Hawaii research crops on Kauai. As a result, research on those destroyed crops was set back at least a year causing lost time and money. The additional penalties that are provided by this measure are a strong deterrent against further crop destruction.

Your Committee has amended this measure by adding a provision subjecting a person to civil liability for wilfully or knowingly damaging or destroying any crop or agricultural commodity that is known by the person to be intended for personal, commercial, or research purposes.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Agriculture that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 640, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 640, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.