STAND. COM. REP. NO.  77

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2015

RE:   H.B. No. 823

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Agriculture, to which was referred H.B. No. 823 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL THEFT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish a two-year Agricultural Theft Pilot Project in the Department of Agriculture to focus on investigating and prosecuting agricultural theft or agricultural vandalism in the County of Hawaii.

The Department of Agriculture; Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, County of Hawaii; Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation; and Hawaii Cattlemen's Council testified in support of this measure.  The Hawaii Crop Improvement Association testified in support of the intent of this measure.  

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Changing the appropriation amount for establishing the two-year Agricultural Theft Pilot Project to an unspecified amount;

     (2)  Changing its effective date to January 20, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

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

     Should your Committee on Finance deliberate this measure further, your Committee respectfully requests that it consider appropriating $200,000 to establish the two-year Agricultural Theft Pilot Project.

     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. 823, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 823, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

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

____________________________

CLIFT TSUJI, Chair