STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1270

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

RE:   S.B. No. 1345

      S.D. 1

      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 Water, Land, & Ocean Resources and Agriculture, to which was referred S.B. No. 1345, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AGRICULTURE,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to provide fair compensation and an automatic lease extension to protect a lessee's interest in leased state land when the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) takes or condemns any portion of the land, preventing the lessee from using the land as originally intended.

     The Hawaii Cattlemen's Association, Inc., Maui Cattlemen's Association, Farias Cattle Co., and several concerned individuals supported this bill.  DLNR opposed this bill.

     Your Committees have amended this bill by:

     (1)  Clarifying that the formula for determining compensation for costs attributable to the diminished use of the lease land includes loss of reasonably anticipated income minus operating costs; and

     (2)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2020, to encourage further discussion.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Water, Land, & Ocean Resources and Agriculture that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1345, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1345, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Water, Land, & Ocean Resources and Agriculture,

____________________________ CLIFT TSUJI, Chair

____________________________ KEN ITO, Chair