STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3180

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2068

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Ways and Means and Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2068, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LAND MANAGEMENT,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to help to ensure the long-term, productive use of public lands leased for agricultural purposes.

Specifically, this measure:

(1) Repeals the requirement that non-agricultural park lands transferred from the Department of Land and Natural Resources to the Department of Agriculture receive approval from the Board of Land and Natural Resources and Board of Agriculture before the transfer;

(2) Requires, rather than permits, the Department of Agriculture to accept the transfer of and management of certain non-agricultural park lands, subject to the suitability of the land for agricultural activities;

(3) Requires the Department of Agriculture, prior to offering a lease, to inquire with the Department of Land and Natural Resources regarding any necessary and reasonable easements on lands subject to the lease; and

(4) Requires approval of the Board of Land and Natural Resources and Board of Agriculture before lands designated for pasture leases are removed for reforestation or other public purposes.

Your Committees received written comments in support of this measure from a member of the Hawaii County Council; Ulupalakua Ranch; Larry Jefts Farms, LLC; Ponoholo Ranch, Limited; Hawaii Meats, LLC; Ulupono Initiative; Hawaii Cattlemen's Council; Hawaii Cattlemen's Association; McCandless Ranch; Kaupo Ranch, Ltd.; Hawaii Farm Bureau; Local Food Coalition; Hawaii Farm Bureau – Molokai Chapter; Kapapala Ranch; Hawaii Aquaculture and Aquaponics Association; Hawaii Crop Improvement Association; Maui County Farm Bureau; and fourteen individuals.

Your Committees received written comments in opposition to this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Sierra Club of Hawaii, Food+ Policy, Conservation Council of Hawaii, Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action, Hawaii Wildlife Fund, Kupuna for the Moopuna, The Nature Conservancy Hawaii, Hawaii's Thousand Friends, Hawaii Audubon Society, Climate Protectors Hawaii, Uprooted and Rising, and more than fifty individuals.

Your Committees received written comments on this measure from the Department of Agriculture and Land Use Research Foundation.

Your Committees find that the creation of a strong agricultural industry in the State is crucial to achieving Hawaii's goals of increasing food self-sufficiency and diversifying the economy.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Correcting the text of section 166E-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, for consistency with the printed version of the Hawaii Revised Statutes;

(2) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on the measure; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Ways and Means and Judiciary that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2068, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2068, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Ways and Means and Judiciary,

________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair