HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1568
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Act 176, Session Laws of Hawaii 2021, is amended by amending section 1 to read as follows:

"SECTION 1. The legislature finds that supporting local businesses and encouraging the production and use of local agricultural products [is] are a matter of statewide concern.

The legislature further finds that the department of education, department of health, department of public safety, department of defense, and University of Hawaii system are the state entities that purchase some of the greatest amounts of agricultural products. For example, according to the department of public safety, it consistently spent more than $10,000,000 annually from 2007 to 2011 to feed Hawaii's inmate population. Under section 11-174-3, Hawaii Administrative Rules, the inclusive rate for routine and ancillary services per patient of the Hawaii state hospital is $133 per day. Routine and ancillary services include food and nutrition services, among other services and supplies.

The department of education operates the twelfth-largest school system in the United States. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the department of education served lunch to 103,786 students daily and an additional 32,352 breakfasts daily. During fiscal year 2017-2018, the department spent more than $45,640,000 on food for school meals. In 2020, even during an abbreviated school year, the department spent about $30,000,000 on food.

The department of defense oversees the Hawaii national guard youth challenge academy and serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner to its residential students. The Hawaii national guard youth challenge academy is seventy-five per cent funded by a federal National Guard Bureau grant, with meal and food purchases for the year having a federal budget cap of $25 a day for each cadet participating in the academy.

[The] Therefore, the purpose of this Act is to require [state departments] the department of education, department of health, department of public safety, department of defense, and University of Hawaii system to ensure that a certain percentage of [produce] food that is purchased is locally grown to ensure the continued growth of local [produce,] food, support local farmers and ranchers, and guarantee that revenue derived from [the produce of contracts for] locally grown [produce] food remains in the State. This Act is not meant to capture departmental or university staff travel expenses, office staff procurement, any other staff meals separate from each department's offered meal services or programs, or other staff meals separate from the university's offered meal services or programs."

SECTION 2. Section 27-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§27-8[]] Contracts for [produce;] food; percentage to be grown within the State. (a) [Each principal department of the State, as established in section 26-4, that purchases produce] The department of education, department of health, department of public safety, department of defense, and University of Hawaii system shall ensure that a certain percentage of the [produce] food purchased [by that department] in public schools and youth campuses, public hospitals, public prisons, and University of Hawaii facilities is fresh local agricultural products and local value-added, processed, agricultural, or food products as follows:

(1) By January 1, 2025, fresh local agricultural products and local value-added, processed, agricultural, or food products shall constitute a minimum of ten per cent of the total [produce] food purchased [by the department] during each calendar year, as measured by the per cent of total food cost;

(2) By January 1, 2030, fresh local agricultural products and local value-added, processed, agricultural, or food products shall constitute a minimum of eighteen per cent of the total [produce] food purchased [by the department] during each calendar year, as measured by the per cent of total food cost;

(3) By January 1, 2035, fresh local agricultural products and local value-added, processed, agricultural, or food products shall constitute a minimum of twenty‑six per cent of the total [produce] food purchased [by the department] during each calendar year, as measured by the per cent of total food cost;

(4) By January 1, 2040, fresh local agricultural products and local value-added, processed, agricultural, or food products shall constitute a minimum of thirty‑four per cent of the total [produce] food purchased [by the department] during each calendar year, as measured by the per cent of total food cost;

(5) By January 1, 2045, fresh local agricultural products and local value-added, processed, agricultural, or food products shall constitute a minimum of forty‑two per cent of the total [produce] food purchased [by the department] during each calendar year, as measured by the per cent of total food cost; and

(6) By January 1, 2050, fresh local agricultural products and local value-added, processed, agricultural, or food products shall constitute a minimum of fifty per cent of the total [produce] food purchased [by the department] during each calendar year, as measured by the per cent of total food cost.

(b) [Each principal department of the State] The department of education, department of health, department of public safety, department of defense, and University of Hawaii system shall each submit a report to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session on [that department's] progress toward meeting the benchmarks described in subsection (a), including:

(1) The [amount of] total [produce] cost of food purchased [by the department] during the calendar year preceding that regular session[, as measured by the per cent of the total food cost];

(2) The [amount of] percentage of the total cost of food purchased during the calendar year preceding that regular session accounted for by the cost of fresh local agricultural products and local value-added, processed, agricultural, or food products [purchased by the department during the calendar year preceding that regular session, as measured by the per cent of the total food cost]; and

[(3) The percentage of fresh local agricultural products and local value-added, processed, agricultural, or food products purchased by the department during the year preceding that regular session; and

(4)] (3) If [the] each respective department or the University of Hawaii did not meet the relevant benchmark described in subsection (a), an explanation of why [the] each respective department or the University of Hawaii did not meet that benchmark.

(c) [For the purposes of] As used in this section:

"Fresh local agricultural products" means fruits, vegetables, nuts, coffee, eggs, poultry, and poultry products, livestock, and livestock products, milk and milk products, aquacultural, and maricultural products, and horticultural products, one hundred per cent grown, raised, and harvested in Hawaii.

"Local value-added, processed, agricultural, or food product" means a product for which at least fifty-one per cent of its primary agricultural product is grown, raised, and harvested in Hawaii.

"Primary agricultural product" means the major agricultural product in a processed or value-added agricultural or food product.

["Produce" means fruits, vegetables, staple starches, nuts, coffee, eggs, poultry and poultry products, livestock and livestock products, milk and milk products, aquacultural and maricultural products, and horticultural products.]"

SECTION 2. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2112.

Report Title:

Procurement; Food Contracts; Specifications; DOE; DOH; PSD; DOD; UH System

Description:

Changes the law requiring all state departments to ensure that a certain percentage of food purchased consists of fresh, local agricultural products or local value-added, processed, agricultural, or food products to apply only to the DOE, DOH, PSD, DOD, and UH System. Requires each of those departments and the UH System to report to the legislature on its progress toward meeting these benchmarks and clarifies the information to be reported. Effective 7/1/2112. (HD1)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.