Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations and Water, Land, and Agriculture, to which was referred S.B. No. 2 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require a purchasing agency to purchase only agricultural products that are grown, produced, raised, or manufactured in the State.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Board of Agriculture, State Procurement Office, ILWU Local 142, Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, and Hawaii Agriculture Research Center.

Your Committees find that although current law provides a bid preference to Hawaii products, this measure strengthens the law which should result in more local products purchased by a purchasing agency. Your Committees note that this measure would not apply if the local supplier's price, after adjustment under current law for preference, still exceeds the price charged by a competing out-of-state supplier. Therefore, purchase of local products at the lowest possible price would still prevail.

Your Committees have amended this measure by changing "state procurement administrator" to "procurement policy board" in reference to rule making.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Transportation, Military Affairs and Government Operations and Water, Land, and Agriculture that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.