CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. 115
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2003
S.D. 1
H.D. 2
C.D. 1
President of the Senate
Twenty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2003
State of Hawaii
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2003
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 1034, S.D. 1, H.D. 2, entitled:
having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.
The purpose of this measure is to ensure the long-term, productive use of agricultural lands by allowing certain agricultural lands leased or available to be leased by the Department of Land and Natural Resources to be transferred to and managed by the Department of Agriculture.
Your Committee on Conference finds that the Department of Agriculture has the expert resource base more in tune with the needs of the agricultural community and with the policy set by the State Constitution. The Department of Agriculture works with the agricultural community on a daily basis and on a variety of issues. It would be more efficient for the state agricultural lessees to deal with one state agency. Your Committee on Conference wants the transferred leases to be in consonance with long-term use of agricultural production and to encourage agricultural activity. Therefore, your Committee on Conference does not want the transferred leased lands to be used for golf courses, nor does it want the lands left idle or fallow.
Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:
(1) Changing the title of the new chapter to "Non-Agricultural Park Lands";
(2) Changing all references of "other agricultural lands" to "non-agricultural park lands" to clarify the management of which lands will be transferred from the Department of Land and Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture;
(3) Adding language to assure that none of the transferred lands with soils classified as A or B will be used for golf courses, golf driving ranges, or country clubs;
(4) Deleting a provision that would not have allowed the funding for personnel related to the management of the transferred lands to also be transferred to the Department of Agriculture;
(5) Assuring that, notwithstanding any law to the contrary, leases of the transferred lands will not have their rents or the length of their leases reduced during the remaining terms of those leases from the time of their transfer; and
(6) Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1034, S.D. 1, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1034, S.D. 1, H.D. 2, C.D. 1.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:
|
FELIPE P. ABINSAY, JR., Co-Chair |
LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Co-Chair |
|
|
EZRA KANOHO, Co-Chair |
RUSSELL KOKUBUN, Co-Chair |
|
|
SOL KAHOOHALAHALA, Co-Chair |
||