STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO.779-02

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: S.B. No. 2665

S.D. 2

H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Agriculture, to which was referred S.B. No. 2665, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL MARKETING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to support agricultural marketing by:

(1) Establishing a temporary Agricultural Cooperative Association (Cooperative Association) in the County of Maui to assist farmers with marketing their produce and products;

(2) Requiring the Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC) to provide its knowledge and resources, as well as to solicit assistance from local agricultural entrepeneurs, to develop a marketing plan and strategy that represents all segments of the diversified agricultural sector in the County of Maui; and

(3) Requiring the ADC to submit a report to the Legislature prior to the convening of each Regular Session, beginning in 2003.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Hawaii Leeward Planning Conference. The ADC and Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation supported the intent of this bill.

Your Committee supports efforts to promote and develop Hawaii's agricultural industry, including the use of agricultural cooperatives. However, your Committee notes that information received by the ADC from federal sources indicates that the ADC does not meet the qualifications necessary to form agricultural cooperatives.

Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting the provision that requires the ADC to establish a Cooperative Association in the County of Maui;

(2) Changing the sunset date of this bill to June 30, 2005; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of style and clarity.

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. 2665, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2665, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Agriculture,

		____________________________ FELIPE P. ABINSAY, Chair