STAND. COM. REP. NO.  32-14

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2014

RE:   H.B. No. 1571

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Education and Higher Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 1571 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO GARDENS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to support agricultural education and increase community access to the benefits of gardening by:

     (1)  Authorizing the Department of Education to develop programs that provide incentives to establish school gardens; and

     (2)  Expanding the Hawaii Community Development Authority's authorization to develop incentive programs for urban gardening to include programs in communities and schools, in addition to programs in housing projects.

The Hawaii Primary Care Association, Maui School Garden Network, University of Hawai‘i PALS Program, PLACES, and several concerned individuals supported this measure.  Farm to Keiki supported this measure with amendments.  The Department of Education opposed this measure.  Hawai‘i Farm to School and School Garden Hui, Hawaii School Garden Network, Executive Director of the Hawaii Community Development Authority, and two concerned individuals provided comments.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting the requirement that the University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources be consulted on school garden programs developed by the Department of Education and gardening programs developed by the Hawaii Community Development Authority;

     (2)  Inserting blank appropriations to fund the development of authorized programs;

     (3)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2014, as a nonsubstantive, technical amendment; and

     (4)  Making additional technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Education and Higher Education that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1571, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1571, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Education and Higher Education,

____________________________ ISAAC W. CHOY, Chair

____________________________ ROY M. TAKUMI, Chair