STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2969

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 1999

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture, to which was referred H.B. No. 1999, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AGRICULTURE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Establish and fund a grant program for qualified feed developers;

     (2)  Appropriate funds to reimburse qualified producers of certain products for their cost of feed;

     (3)  Appropriate funds to reimburse qualified feed developers for the costs of feed development; and

     (4)  Require and fund the Department of Agriculture to conduct a survey to identify, assess, and validate locally sourced feed ingredients.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Agriculture; Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii; Hawaii Cattlemen's Council, Inc.; Ulupono Initiative; Hawai‘i Farm Bureau; American Feed Industry Association; and Ponoholo Ranch, Limited.

     Your Committee finds that the Hawaii livestock industry consistently identifies the cost of feed as the most expensive component in operational costs.  The Department of Agriculture is committed to reducing the cost of production for the State's livestock and aquaculture industries by reducing the cost of feed.  Hawaii has the potential ingredients for the development and production of local feedstock, and the Department of Agriculture has initiated a feed development process to identify, assess, and validate available local feed ingredients.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Clarifying that grant disbursements are for development costs of feed sold to qualified producers;

     (2)  Clarifying when an annual financial statement is to be filed by a qualified feed developer;

     (3)  Inserting language to clarify when documentation of animal feed costs and an annual financial statement are to be filed by a qualified producer;

     (4)  Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2016; and

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

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1999, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1999, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture,

________________________________

MIKE GABBARD, Chair