STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1362

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2021

RE: S.B. No. 1344

S.D. 2

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water & Land, to which was referred S.B. No. 1344, S.D. 2, entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require:

(1) The Department of Agriculture, in coordination with the Office of Planning, to prepare and periodically update the State Agriculture Functional Plan to include other agricultural economic updates, including updates on seafood sustainability that expand the State's priority on food by including wild seafood as a viable food source; and

(2) The Governor to submit the State Agriculture Functional Plan, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature prior to the convening of the 2023 Regular Session.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the University of Hawaii West Oahu Food+ Policy Internship; Hawai‘i Fishermen's Alliance for Conservation and Tradition, Inc.; Fishing Tales with Mike Sakamoto; and ten individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Office of Planning; Department of Agriculture; United Fishing Agency, Ltd.; and Hawaii Seafood Council.

Your Committee finds that seafood sustainability is vital to the planning of Hawaii's overall food sustainability and food security. Updating the State Agriculture Functional Plan to include updates on seafood sustainability and wild seafood as a viable food source will also have an effect on policies, programs, and projects for implementing agricultural and agriculture-related objectives, policies, and priority guidelines in the Hawaii State Plan.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the effective date to upon its approval; and

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

Your Committee encourages the Department of Land and Natural Resource's Division of Aquatic Resources to be closely engaged in the process to update the State Agriculture Functional Plan to ensure that wild seafood is incorporated in the functional plan and ensure that the role of open ocean aquaculture is addressed in the functional plan as well.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water & Land that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1344, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1344, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water & Land,

____________________________

DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair