Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2006

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture, to which was referred S.B. No. 2485 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to authorize special purpose revenue bonds for certain agricultural enterprises that construct or renovate irrigation systems or infrastructure which directly benefit and serve important agricultural lands.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Budget and Finance, the Department of Taxation, the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, the Hawaii Crop Improvement Association, the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, the Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii, and Maui Land and Pineapple Company, Inc. Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by Earthjustice and the Sierra Club. Comments were also submitted by the Department of the Attorney General.

Your Committee finds that Hawaii's agriculture industry has the ability to be globally competitive in developing high-value products that take advantage of Hawaii's brand identity. Thus, your Committee further finds that encouraging agricultural development will pay not only financial dividends to the State, but environmental and social dividends as well. This measure helps agriculture take steps in that direction by authorizing special purpose revenue bonds for certain agricultural enterprises that construct or renovate irrigation systems or infrastructure which directly benefit and serve important agricultural lands.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

Your Committee notes testimony from Earthjustice and the Sierra Club raising important concerns regarding the need to establish instream flow standards. Your Committee agrees that these standards are very important to the State and emphasizes that this issue is currently addressed in other measures moving through the legislative process.

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. 2485, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2485, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.