STAND. COM. REP. NO. 43

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 127

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Agriculture and Environment, to which was referred S.B. No. 127 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL GRANTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Establish the Conventional Farming Grant Program to provide grants to small- and mid-sized farmers who practice conventional farming; and

(2) Appropriate funds for the Program.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Agriculture, Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau, Hawaiʻi Farmers Union United, Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi, and two individuals.

Your Committee finds that the majority of farm enterprises in the State are small operations and that many local farms are facing significant financial challenges arising from the high cost of labor, land, water, planting materials, fertilizers, feed, equipment, construction, energy, and transportation. According to testimony received by your Committee, conventional farming remains one of the most efficient ways to produce large quantities of food to meet the needs of Hawaii's communities. Conventional farming practices allow farmers to optimize yields, manage resources effectively, and contribute to a stable and diverse food supply. The grant program established by this measure would provide critical support to local farmers and further the State's broader goal of increasing local food production.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the appropriation to an unspecified amount;

(2) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

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

Your Committee notes that this measure, as amended, contains an unspecified appropriation amount. Should your Committee on Ways and Means choose to deliberate on this measure, your Committee respectfully requests that it consider inserting an appropriation amount of $5,000,000 for the Conventional Farming Grant Program.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Agriculture and Environment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 127, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 127, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Agriculture and Environment,

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MIKE GABBARD, Chair