RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, in August through October 2001, the House Committees on Agriculture and Water and Land Use conducted a series of hearings in an effort to gain information and consensus from which legislation could be drafted to fulfill the constitutional mandate adopted twenty-five years ago by the 1978 Constitutional Convention to protect and conserve important agricultural lands; and

WHEREAS, as a direct result of these hearings, an Agricultural Coalition was independently and successfully organized in 2001 and 2002, primarily to advance agricultural activity in the State and, in so doing, to address two aspects of the constitutional mandate: "promote diversified agriculture" and "increase agricultural self sufficiency"; and

WHEREAS, significant legislation was introduced and passed by the House of Representatives during the 2002 legislative session but failed to gain conference committee approval; and

WHEREAS, similar House bills introduced in the Regular Session of 2003 were heard by the House Committees on Agriculture and Water, Land Use and Hawaiian Affairs, but difficulty in resolving the complex issues in the relatively short and formal legislative hearing process dictated that this matter be deferred and subjected to further in-depth discussion and interaction on the part of an agriculture working group which continues the work started by the Agricultural Coalition; and

WHEREAS, the Agriculture Working Group representing all involved stakeholders of the community comprised of Agribusiness Development Corporation, Alexander & Baldwin, Inc., Business Retention and Expansion, Brigham Young University Farms, Castle & Cooke, Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, Department of Agriculture, City and County of Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting, Maui Planning Department, Kauai Planning Department, Hawaii Planning Department, Department of Land and Natural Resources, Grove Farms, Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, Hawaii's Thousand Friends, Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar, Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation-Kauai, Hawaii Leeward Planning Conference, HPC Foods, Ltd., Jefts Farms, Kahili Farm Kauai, Kamehameha Schools, Kauai County Council, Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii, Lanihau Partners, Life of the Land, Mark A. Robinson Trust, Matsuda-Fukuyama Farms, Maui County Farm Bureau, Maui Land & Pineapple Co., Inc., Mountain View Dairy, Inc., Nalo Farms, Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, Okudara & Associates, Inc., Parker Ranch, Princeville Corp., Royal Coast Tropical Fruit Company, state Land Use Commission, state Office of Planning, The Estate of James Campbell, The Nature Conservancy, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Public Policy Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, United States Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Volcano Island Fruit Co., W.T. Haraguchi Farm, Inc., and Waialua Coffee Farm; and

WHEREAS, the Agriculture Working Group, having met productively on February 8 and 28, 2003, to address issues embodied in Article XI, section 3, of the State Constitution, and to focus on legislation to protect agricultural lands in the context of understanding what makes for successful agriculture, is the perfect entity to address this entire subject during the remainder of this Regular Session and throughout the forthcoming legislative interim; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature formally recognizes the Agriculture Working Group and expresses its deep appreciation to all of its members and particularly to its facilitator, Dr. Andrew Hashimoto, Dean and Director, University of Hawaii at Manoa, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, for the time, effort, and resources expended, and which will continue to be willingly given toward the formulation of appropriate land use policies; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Agriculture Working Group shall continue with its efforts to assist the State and the Legislature in fulfilling the constitutional mandate of:

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Agriculture Working Group may continue to address all pertinent issues it deems appropriate, including, but not limited to:

(6) The purchase and transfer of development rights;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the state Office of Planning shall provide support to the Agriculture Working Group in the preparation of proposed legislation for consideration in the 2004 regular legislative session; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Office of Planning, all members of the Agriculture Working Group, and the President of the University of Hawaii.

Report Title:

Recognizing the efforts of the Agriculture Working Group in addressing the mandates of article XI, section 3 of the state constitution.