Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Water and Land Use and Agriculture, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 94 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this resolution is to request the Director of the Office of Planning and the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture to establish an Agricultural Task Force to develop recommendations for the promotion of agricultural development and the protection of existing agricultural land resources and their components.

Your committee finds that the long term viability of agriculture is dependent on numerous factors such as availability of land, factors affecting profitability, availability of water for irrigation, application of production technologies, marketing and transportation service.

Your committee further finds that there exists a need to expand agricultural opportunities in Hawaii and to increase the role of agriculture in diversification of Hawaii's economy.

The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, the Department of Agriculture, University of Hawaii, Hawaii Leeward Planning Conference, Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii, Hawaii Farm Bureau, Pineapple Growers Association, and Hawaii's Thousand Friends offered testimony in support of this measure.

Your committee has amended this resolution by:

(1) Recommending that the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, and Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation be included as part of this Task Force.

(2) Recommending that the Task Force consider and adopt as may be appropriate, the efforts and plans of the "Agricultural Coalition" and the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation.

Several non-substantive technical changes were also effected.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Water and Land Use and Agriculture that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 94, as amended herein, and recommend that it be referred to the Committee on Finance, in the form attached hereto as H.C.R. No. 94, H.D. 1.