STAND. COM. REP. NO. 409

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2

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 Government Operations, to which was referred S.B. No. 2 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TREES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Require the State, to the extent practicable, to plant fruit trees in new or renovated landscaping including trees;

(2) Authorize persons to harvest fruit from those trees; and

(3) Indemnify the State from injuries and illnesses resulting from harvesting or ingesting the fruit.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaiʻi Farmers Union United and three individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Accounting and General Services and Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Your Committee finds that green spaces and planting functional urban trees can be a successful approach to sustainable agriculture to address food insecurity. The incorporation of fruit-bearing trees into state-managed land development projects can provide fresh, nutritious produce free of commercial supply chains, thus reducing food miles and bolstering our local economy. The measure will expand green spaces, promote community-based food sourcing, enrich soil, and support biodiversity throughout the State.

Your Committee notes the concerns raised by the Department of Accounting and General Services regarding the significant cost of implementing this statewide program. According to the Department, the cost of planting ten fruit trees on an established site is approximately $310,000, with an additional annual cost of $90,512 for required upkeep and maintenance, including irrigation maintenance, retention of arborists and tree trimming services, and staffing. Your Committee also notes that certain areas on the island of Oahu have already been planting fruit trees on state lands. Therefore, your Committee believes that establishing a pilot program in that area will provide that State a much needed opportunity to assess the program's merits and costs.

Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting its contents and inserting language that establishes a two-year Fruit Tree Harvest Pilot Program that requires state agencies that create plans, designs, or specifications for new or renovated landscaping that integrate the planting of trees within a certain area on the island of Oahu to plant fruit trees for public harvest, to the extent practicable;

(2) Requiring state agencies that plant fruit trees pursuant to the Fruit Tree Harvest Pilot Program to collaborate to submit a report to the Legislature; and

(3) Inserting an effective date of January 1, 2491, to encourage further discussion.

Your Committee notes that, based on the cost estimate provided by the Department of Accounting and General Services for a statewide program, the cost to implement the Fruit Tree Harvest Pilot Program may still be significant. Your Committee finds that this issue merits further consideration and respectfully requests that subsequent Committees to which this measure is referred examine the potential costs of the pilot program.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committees on Ways and Means and Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Government Operations,

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ANGUS L.K. MCKELVEY, Chair