HR179

WHEREAS, sections 3 and 10 of article XI of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii mandate the support and promotion of diversified agricultural activities and agricultural self-sufficiency for the State; and

WHEREAS, Act 183, Session Laws of Hawaii 2005, establishing important agricultural lands, declared it the policy of the State to:

(1) Conserve and protect agricultural lands;

(2) Promote diversified agriculture;

(3) Increase agricultural self-sufficiency; and

(4) Assure the availability of agriculturally suitable lands; and

WHEREAS, numerous concurrent efforts are proposing other ways, means, and incentives to promote agriculture in the State; and

WHEREAS, in spite of all these declarations and efforts, with the high value of real estate in the State, competing needs for finite amounts of water for human consumption, commercial and industrial use, and agricultural irrigation, and some of the highest labor costs in the country, many times our agricultural products cannot compete with mainland and foreign imports of agricultural products in our local, national, and international markets; and

WHEREAS, there may be more opportunities for our local agricultural products to compete in the local, national, and international markets if our agricultural products are properly processed, packaged, and assembled; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to study the feasibility of constructing a multi-purpose processing facility or facilities for the production of value-added products making use of locally grown agricultural products; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to consider the following in its study:

(1) The feasibility of utilizing a single multi-purpose processing facility;

(2) The type of owner-operator for the multi-purpose facility, that is, public, private, or a combination thereof;

(3) The types of packaged or finished value-added products that may be processed by the processing facility;

(4) The markets, local, national, and international, that may be targeted for products of the processing facility; and

(5) The latest emerging technologies that may be used in processing and marketing Hawaii agricultural products; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to consult with the Department of Agriculture; the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; the Agribusiness Development Corporation; the University of Hawaii, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources; the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation; the Hawaii Agricultural Research Center; the Hawaii Food Manufacturers Association; and other stakeholders in the agricultural industry; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau; the Director of Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; the Director of Land and Industrial Resources; the Executive Director of the Agricultural Development Corporation; the Dean of the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources; and the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture who in turn is requested to transmit copies to the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, the Hawaii Agricultural Research Center, the Hawaii Food Manufacturers Association, and other appropriate stakeholders in the agricultural industy.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Agricultural Products: Processing Facility; Legislative Reference Bureau.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	179
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII