STAND. COM. REP. NO.  525

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

RE:   H.B. No. 1471

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Tourism, Culture, & International Affairs and Agriculture, to which was referred H.B. No. 1471 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FARMS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to promote local agriculture, particularly in the visitor and hospitality industries, by:

     (1)  Requiring the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) to plan and implement a food certification pilot program (Pilot Program) to encourage the formation of agricultural cooperatives and coordinate purchasing agreements with buyers in the visitor and hospitality industries; and

     (2)  Establishing the Food Certification Pilot Program Special Fund (Special Fund) and appropriating $160,000 to the Special Fund for purposes of the Pilot Program.

     Armstrong Produce, Alluvion, Kyo-ya Management Company, Ltd., the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, and several concerned individuals testified in support of this bill.  The University of Hawaii System and Hawaii Hotel and Lodging Association supported the intent of this measure.  HTA opposed this bill.  The Department of Agriculture (DOA) provided comments.

     Your Committees note that the Pilot Program in this measure could be valuable to other entities, and encourages these entities that are interested in consuming locally grown agricultural products to track the progress of the Pilot Program.

     Your Committees have amended this bill by:

     (1)  Removing the Pilot Program from HTA and placing it in DOA;

     (2)  Expanding the Pilot Program to include all farmers, not only small farmers;

     (3)  Clarifying the types of funds that can be deposited into the Special Fund;

     (4)  Appropriating funds from general revenues, instead of the Tourism Special Fund, to the Special Fund;

     (5)  Specifying that the Pilot Program ends on June 30, 2011;

     (6)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2110, to encourage further discussion; and

     (7)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Tourism, Culture, & International Affairs and Agriculture that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1471, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1471, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Tourism, Culture, & International Affairs and Agriculture,

____________________________ CLIFT TSUJI, Chair

____________________________ JOEY MANAHAN, Chair