Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 2271, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to find ways to reduce the theft of agricultural commodities by appropriating funds to establish an Agricultural Theft Abatement Task Force.

Your Committee finds that agricultural theft is a severe problem facing the agricultural industry. Agricultural producers in Hawaii lose over a million dollars annually due to theft. Furthermore, these losses threaten the sustainability of many agricultural enterprises at a time when such enterprises play a significant role in the efforts to diversify the State's economy.

Your Committee notes that the nature of agricultural operations, including their often rural or remote location, makes it difficult to deter, prevent, and prosecute agricultural theft through conventional means. Your Committee believes that the formation of this task force is an important first step in bringing the stakeholders and appropriate law enforcement officials together to develop new and innovative strategies to abate agricultural theft.

Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the appropriation to an unspecified amount to facilitate further discussion of this issue.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2271, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2271, S.D. 2.