STAND. COM. REP. NO. 742

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1230

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 1230, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MEAT DONATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to exempt the donation of wild game meat, including axis deer, by a hunter for the use or distribution by a charitable, religious, or nonprofit organization to needy persons from certain laws regarding the inspection and transportation of meat.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, Office of the Mayor of the County of Maui, one member of the Maui County Council, Hawaii Food Industry Association, Maui Food Bank, Maui Wild Game Management, Pūlama Lānaʻi, Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau, Malama Kauaʻi, Maui Adaptation Project, Maui Chamber of Commerce, Maui Food Bank, and fifteen individuals.

Your Committee finds that many local families are struggling to access adequate nutrition. While food insecurity has remained a pressing issue in the State, the overpopulation of axis deer, especially on Maui, has caused significant damage to watersheds, ecosystems, and agricultural lands, all of which contribute to economic losses for farmers and landowners. This measure provides a solution to both issues by exempting the donation of wild game meat, including axis deer, to charitable, religious, or nonprofit organizations from certain inspection and transportation laws. This measure removes certain barriers to meat donation, while enabling hunters and landowners to help control the invasive deer population and providing an additional food source for those in need.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; 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 Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1230, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1230, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection,

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JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair