Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Agriculture, to which was referred H.B. No. 353 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is improve agricultural production, training for farmers, and access to fresh and safe food for the Waianae community by appropriating an unspecified amount of funds for Leeward Community College's partnership with the Waianae Community Re-Development Corporation in operating the Waianae Organic Agriculture Center (Center).

The Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, Hawaii Alliance for Community-Based Economic Development, a member of the Maui County Council, and four concerned citizens supported this bill. Leeward Community College, University of Hawaii's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, and the Hawaiian Alliance for Responsible Technology & Science supported the intent of this measure.

Your Committee recognizes the importance of supporting the Center, which will help to ensure access to nutritionally safe and healthy foods for the Waianae community. In addition, your Committee recognizes that non-organic food production also results in nutritionally safe and healthy foods and supports any effort by the Center to improve non-organic food production.

To promote further discussion, your Committee has amended this measure by changing the appropriation amount to $1. In addition, your Committee has made technical, nonsubstantive amendments for style and clarity.

Your Committee notes that preliminary discussions with Leeward Community College have indicated that initial operating costs of the Center amount to an estimated $150,000.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Agriculture that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 353, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 353, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Higher Education.