STAND. COM. REP. NO.  872

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

RE:   H.B. No. 1471

      H.D. 2

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 1471, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FARMS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to promote local agriculture by:

     (1)  Establishing the Food Certification Pilot Program (Program) within the Department of Agriculture (DOA) to:

          (A)  Encourage farmers to form agricultural cooperatives;

          (B)  Coordinate purchasing agreements between the agricultural cooperatives and hotels, restaurants, and other buyers in the visitor and hospitality industries; and

          (C)  Develop and implement safe food certification for products under the Program;

          and

     (2)  Establishing the Food Certification Pilot Program Special Fund and appropriating funds for the Program.

     The Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, Armstrong Produce, Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, Kyo-ya Management Company Limited, and Alluvion, Inc., testified in support of this bill.  The Department of Budget and Finance, DOA, University of Hawaii at Manoa, and a concerned individual offered comments.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

     (1)  Blanking out the amounts of the appropriations to encourage further discussion; and

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

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1471, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1471, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,

____________________________

MARCUS R. OSHIRO, Chair