Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2006

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Water, Land, & Ocean Resources and Agriculture, to which was referred H.B. No. 1938 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to strengthen the use restrictions of lands in the state land use agricultural district by clarifying that counties shall not permit any use in the agricultural district that is not a statutorily permitted use.

The Department of Agriculture and Hawaii Chapter of the Sierra Club supported the intent of this bill. The Office of Planning, Office of the Corporation Counsel of the County of Hawaii, and Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii submitted testimony in opposition to this measure. The Land Use Commission and Hawaii Agriculture Research Center offered comments on this bill.

Your Committees strongly concur with the original intent of the bill and that through escalating abuses and circumvention of the law, undesirable precedence has resulted in inappropriate and increasing non-agricultural developments, including luxury estates, on lands in the agricultural district.

Your Committees note that by reference only to section 205-4.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the bill would only apply to lands rated "A" or "B" in the agricultural district.

Your Committees find that the use restriction of lands in the agricultural district must be further strengthened. Accordingly, your Committees have amended this bill by:

Additionally, the bill as amended would help keep agricultural lands affordable for farmers by preventing increases in agricultural land valuations resulting from high value, non-agricultural activities and developments on agricultural land.

As strongly emphasized in the public hearing, any desired or needed development can take place on lands in the agricultural district through the state and county boundary amendment process.

For the reasons cited, this is a critically important measure for your Committees and the people of Hawaii, and would accomplish what has been unsuccessfully attempted for the past five years.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Water, Land, & Ocean Resources and Agriculture that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1938, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1938, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.