STAND. COM. REP. NO.  339-12

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2012

RE:   H.B. No. 2244

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Agriculture, to which was referred H.B. No. 2244 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AGRICULTURE INSPECTORS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the Department of Agriculture to deputize private inspectors in order to have them conduct inspections in other states of articles, substances, and objects intended for import into this State.

The Nature Conservancy testified in support of this measure.  The Department of Agriculture testified in support of the intent of this measure.  The Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation testified in support of this measure with amendments.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Authorizing the Department of Agriculture to instead establish compliance agreements with federal and state agriculture departments for inspections and monitoring in the state of origin;

     (2)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, for the purposes of facilitating further discussion; and

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     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. 2244, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2244, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

CLIFT TSUJI, Chair