STAND. COM. REP. NO.  584-16

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2016

RE:   H.B. No. 2274

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Agriculture, to which was referred H.B. No. 2274 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE AGRICULTURAL LOAN REVOLVING FUND,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to make affordable capital accessible to farmers so that they may increase local food production and thereby make Hawaii more food self-sufficient by appropriating additional funds to the Agricultural Loan Revolving Fund.

The Department of Agriculture, Hawaii Cattlemen's Council, Hawaii Farm Bureau, and Chamber of Commerce Hawaii supported this measure.

Your Committee has amended this measure by deleting the amount of the appropriation for the Agricultural Loan Revolving Fund to encourage further discussion.

Should your Committee on Finance deliberate on this measure further, you Committee on Agriculture respectfully requests that it consider appropriating $4,000,000 for deposit into the Agricultural Loan Revolving Fund.

     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. 2274, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2274, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

CLIFT TSUJI, Chair