STAND. COM. REP. NO.  250

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2013

RE:   H.B. No. 1260

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Agriculture, to which was referred H.B. No. 1260 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AGRICULTURE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to expand the types of agricultural commodities exempt from the general excise tax on amounts received for loading, transportation, and unloading to include, milk, poultry eggs, poultry meat, poultry carcasses and aquaculture and aquaponic products to be consumed in the State, whether imported or processed within the State.

The Hawaii Cattlemen's Council, Inc.; Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation; Local Food Coalition; Ulupono Initiative; and Land Use Research Foundation testified in support of this measure.  The Department of Agriculture, Department of Taxation, and Tax Foundation of Hawaii provided comments on this measure.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by including in the definition of agricultural commodities exempt from the general excise tax on amounts received for loading, transportation, and unloading, beef, beef carcasses, goat meat, goat carcasses, lamb meat, lamb carcasses, sheep meat, and sheep carcasses.

     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. 1260, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1260, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce.

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

____________________________

JESSICA WOOLEY, Chair