STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3196

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2987

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2987 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMES ON AGRICULTURAL LANDS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Impose extended terms of imprisonment for certain offenses against property rights when committed on agricultural land; and

(2) Appropriate funds for the Department of the Attorney General to establish a Statewide Agricultural Theft Task Force.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Agriculture, Ulupono Initiative, Hawai‘i Farm Bureau, and one individual. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Office of the Public Defender and Community Alliance on Prisons. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General and the Department of Budget and Finance.

Your Committees find that agricultural lots are a prime target for thieves as there are many open entry points, farms are often located in rural and isolated areas, and punishments are minor relative to other crimes. Deterring theft often requires significant monetary investments in security infrastructure, monitoring, and labor, despite already tight profit margins for most agricultural operations. This measure will support local producers by imposing mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment for certain offenses against property rights when committed on agricultural land and appropriating funds for the Department of the Attorney General to establish a Statewide Agricultural Theft Task Force.

Your Committees have amended this measure by:

(1) Replacing the extended terms of imprisonment with mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment of ninety days for a class B felony, sixty days for a class C felony, thirty days for a misdemeanor, and seven days for a petty misdemeanor;

(2) Specifying that the mandatory minimums are in addition to any other jail term or punishment otherwise provided by law;

(3) Inserting an effective date of July 30, 2075, to encourage further discussion; and

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

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2987, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2987, S.D. 1.

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

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair

________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair