STAND. COM. REP. NO. 64

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 354

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Agriculture and Environment, to which was referred S.B. No. 354 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AGRICULTURE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish a temporary task force within the Department of Agriculture to create a definition for the term "bona fide agricultural producer".

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Agriculture; Office of Planning; Hawai‘i Farm Bureau; Maui County Farm Bureau; Hawaii Cattlemen's Council, Inc.; Ponoholo Ranch, Limited; and one individual.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Taxation.

     Your Committee finds that there is no definition for "bona fide agricultural producer" in the Hawaii Revised Statutes, which has led to disagreement among policy makers and stakeholders when crafting legislation and incentives to benefit farmers.  Creating a single definition or multiple definitions of "bona fide agricultural producer" may require careful and substantial amendments to the Hawaii Revised Statutes.  Creating a single definition will likely require the development of standards and criteria to define what constitutes a qualifying level of performance or achievement for each category of agricultural producer and may need to be broad so as not to inadvertently exclude certain farmers.  Your Committee further finds that a temporary task force under the Department of Agriculture would be ideally suited to analyze such standards and criteria in developing a definition of "bona fide agricultural producer".

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Agriculture and Environment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 354 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

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MIKE GABBARD, Chair