STAND. COM. REP. NO.  148-14

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2014

RE:   H.B. No. 1514

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Agriculture, to which was referred H.B. No. 1514 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AGRICULTURE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate moneys for the control and containment of the coffee berry borer, a small beetle that has infested crops in the Kona and South Kona regions.

The Department of Agriculture, Department of Land and Natural Resources, University of Hawaii, Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, Hawaii Farmers Union United, Hawaii Coffee Association, Maui Grocery Service Inc., Royal Kona Coffee Visitor Center Mill and Museum, Hawaii Coffee Growers Association, Coffees of Hawaii, LLC-Molokai, Kona Coffee Council, Onouli Farm LLC, Greenwell Farms, Kona Coffee Farmers Association, Dole Waialua Coffee, Maui Coffee Association, Hawaii Floriculture and Nursery Association, Hawaii Cattlemen's Council, and numerous individuals submitted testimony in support of this measure.

     Your Committee finds that coffee is the fourth-largest agricultural crop in the State, is very important to the State's economy, and that the coffee berry borer is a dangerous invasive species that poses a serious threat to Hawaii's entire coffee industry.  Your Committee also finds that ongoing efforts to prevent and control coffee berry borer infestations are critical to stopping this destructive pest from spreading from Hawaii island to other islands and that the State must take immediate action to support these efforts and help protect the State's coffee industry.

     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. 1514 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

JESSICA WOOLEY, Chair