STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1173-14

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2014

RE:   S.B. No. 2296

      S.D. 2

      H.D. 1

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 S.B. No. 2296, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE DISPOSITION OF LANDS MANAGED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to authorize the Department of Agriculture to select qualified applicants as back-up lessees when disposing of certain agricultural or non-agricultural park lands through the sealed bidding process.

     In addition, the measure:

     (1)  Authorizes the Department of Agriculture to negotiate with or offer leases to back-up lessees if the highest offering lessee fails to finalize a lease or satisfy conditions of the award; and

     (2)  Conforms the eligibility criteria for lessees of agricultural park lands to that of lessees of non-agricultural park lands.

The Department of Agriculture and the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation provided testimony in support of the measure.  One individual provided comments.

     Your Committee finds that the awarding of agricultural leases through sealed bidding is a time-consuming process for the Department of Agriculture.  Your Committee believes that authorizing the Department to select qualified applicants as back-up lessees will save the Department significant time and resources in awarding agricultural leases.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  For leases of agricultural park lands:

          (A)  Deleting the repeal of language that grants eligibility to any person who does not own agriculturally-zoned land of twenty-five acres or more in the State, individually or jointly with a spouse, or whose spouse does not own twenty-five acres or more of agriculturally-zoned land in the State; and

          (B)  Granting eligibility to any person who the Department of Agriculture determines has promoted the goals of the Increased Food Security and Food Self-sufficiency Strategy, as established by the Office of Planning in 2012, instead of on the basis of a finding by the Department that the person has a beneficial impact on agriculture; and

     (2)  Changing the effective date from July 1, 2050, to upon approval.

     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 S.B. No. 2296, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2296, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

JESSICA WOOLEY, Chair