Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture, to which was referred S.B. No. 1680 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require that at least one member of the Board of Agriculture and the Board of Land and Natural Resources have a background, knowledge, and demonstrated experience in the board's subject area.

The Department of Agriculture and Department of Land and Natural Resources submitted comments on the measure.

Your Committee finds that both the Board of Agriculture and the Board of Land and Natural Resources work with specialized subject areas. However, the member requirements for both boards do not specifically provide that any members have a background in the boards' subject areas.

The Department of Agriculture submitted testimony suggesting that a change of the Board of Agriculture's requirements is unnecessary because the Hawaii Revised Statutes already provide that the "majority of the members of the board shall be from the agricultural community or the agricultural support sector." Your Committee further finds that there is no similar provision for the Board of Land and Natural Resources. Thus, this measure will provide requirements for at least one member of the Board of Land and Natural Resources to have a background in the board's subject area.

Your Committee has amended this measure by adopting the comments of the Department of Agriculture. Specifically, your Committee deleted the new provisions that require at least one of Board of Agriculture members to have a background in agriculture.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1680, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1680, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.