STAND. COM. REP. NO. 800

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 698

       S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 698, S.D. 1, entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to improve the regulation of agricultural lands.

     More specifically, the measure:

     (1)  Requires an owner or occupier of certain agricultural lands that are subdivided or leased to provide written notice to certain county agencies of the agricultural uses or activities for which the lands were subdivided and leased, together with a subdivision or lease map; and

     (2)  Grants state and county agencies authority to enter subdivided and leased agricultural lands to investigate for violations of and compliance with agricultural subdivision and lease qualifications.

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Planning and Permitting of the City and County of Honolulu, the Hawaii Cattlemens Council, and Ponoholo Ranch Limited.

     Your Committee finds that enforcement of agricultural subdivision and lease qualifications and agricultural building permit exemptions are challenging for state and county agencies and land use violations continue to occur.  For example, a county planning agency having enforcement duties lacks authority to enter private property to investigate compliance of agricultural buildings with exemptions from building permit requirements and building codes.

Your Committee further finds that this measure provides appropriate agencies with additional tools to investigate certain agricultural land subdivision activities and permits those agencies to enter affected properties to inspect for compliance.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by specifying that an agency that provides reasonable notice, but is refused entry to certain agricultural lands to inspect for violations, may apply to the district court for a warrant commanding police to provide assistance.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 698, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 698, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

________________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair