STAND. COM. REP. NO. 35

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 519

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Agriculture and Environment, to which was referred S.B. No. 519 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FOOD SAFETY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to require and appropriate funds for the Department of Agriculture to establish a food safety certification training program to help small and medium sized farms obtain Good Agricultural Practices certification.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from one member of the Hawai‘i County Council, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, Hawaii Food Industry Association, Bayer, O‘ahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, North Shore Economic Vitality Partnership, Hawai‘i Farm Bureau, Organizing for Action, Hawaii Agriculture Research Center, and five individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Agriculture.

Your Committee finds that small farms in Hawaii face many challenges, including the financial and administrative burden of meeting state and federal regulations. The establishment of a food safety certification training program will provide direct implementation assistance to small and medium sized farms to obtain a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification, which will help get more safe, local Hawaii produce in the hands of Hawaii consumers. USDA GAP certification confirms that a farm is committed to the highest standard of produce safety and freshness and is an important first step toward full compliance with the federal Food Safety and Modernization Act.

Your Committee recognizes that currently the cost of federal GAP certification is too high for many farmers, which is partly due to the fact that many farmers need to pay someone from the mainland to certify Hawaii farmers. This measure provides resources to train local certifiers and will help ensure that local businesses continue to modernize and follow national standards.

Your Committee additionally finds that the Department of Agriculture currently works in partnership with the University of Hawai‘i College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, which coaches and trains farmers to comply with federal regulations. Your Committee notes that the Department of Agriculture requests that the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources implement this project and be the expending agency since the college currently performs similar work on a smaller scale.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Making the University of Hawai‘i College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources the expending agency for the appropriation to implement a food safety certification training program; and

(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

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. 519, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 519, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

________________________________

MIKE GABBARD, Chair