STAND. COM. REP. NO.  49-10

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2010

RE:   H.B. No. 2411

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Agriculture, to which was referred H.B. No. 2411 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to direct the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) to analyze and report on the economic impacts on businesses and communities, as a result of the reduction in services of the Department of Agriculture's (DOA) Plant Quarantine Branch and Commodities Branch throughout the state.

     The Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, Hawaii Papaya Industry Association, The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii, Hawaii Crop Improvement Association, and Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species testified in support of this bill.  LRB and Diamond Head Papaya Co., Ltd. offered comments.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

     (1)  Incorporating the content of H.B. No. 2412, which directs LRB to analyze and report on the environmental impacts on businesses and communities, as a result of the reduction in services of DOA's Plant Quarantine Branch and Commodities Branch throughout the state; and

     (2)  Changing the effective date to January 20, 2020, to facilitate further discussion.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Agriculture that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2411, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2411, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Legislative Management.

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

____________________________

CLIFT TSUJI, Chair