STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1418

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2019

RE: S.B. No. 1351

S.D. 1

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Agriculture, to which was referred S.B. No. 1351, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEMP,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to expedite and improve efficiency under the Industrial Hemp Pilot Program (Pilot Program) administered by the Department of Agriculture (DOA) by:

(1) Establishing alternative methods of sampling industrial hemp for purposes of verifying the delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration;

(2) Providing that sampling of varieties of industrial hemp from growing areas is at the discretion of the Chair of the Board of Agriculture or the Chair's designee, rather than only at the discretion of the Board of Agriculture;

(3) Increasing the charge to $40 per hour per inspector for inspections, together with charges for travel and extraordinary services, payable by industrial hemp licensees;

(4) Authorizing DOA to employ temporary inspectors to conduct inspections under the Pilot Program; and

(5) Requiring DOA to fix, assess, and collect fees for inspection services conducted by temporary inspectors under the Pilot Program and deposit the fees in the Certification Services Revolving Fund, which may be used to cover costs for inspection services.

The Hawaii Farm Bureau, Aina Ho‘okupu o Kilauea, and O‘ahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i supported this measure. DOA and a few concerned individuals commented on this measure.

Your Committee has amended this measure by changing its effective date to July 1, 2150, to encourage further discussion.

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 S.B. No. 1351, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1351, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

RICHARD P. CREAGAN, Chair