Bill Text: HI HB1939 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Department of Agriculture; Agricultural Development and Food Security Program; Appropriation

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-23 - (H) Re-referred to AGR/EEP, FIN, referral sheet 6 [HB1939 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2012-HB1939-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1939
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to sustainability.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that immediate action is needed to secure Hawaii's agricultural development and ensure its food security for future generations of Hawaii.  Hawaii's agriculture has transformed from sugar and pineapple to diversified agriculture and now faces such complexities as diversified export markets, increased pest pressure, and global competition as well as concerns about sustainability, food safety, food security, and self-sufficiency.

Being an island state has resulted in unique problems.  Dependency on imported food is a problem we have ignored at our peril.  Any disruption to food supply lines, including international crises, natural disasters, or labor disputes, would leave this state with a week of food.  Agriculture must be rebuilt to enable us to feed ourselves during times of emergencies, and to increase our State's economic base and economic diversity.  Eighty-five per cent of the food in Hawaii is imported.  Importing food costs the State about $3,000,000,000 each year.  This is money that leaves the State's economy.  Producing just ten per cent of that amount locally would keep $300,000,000 circulating in Hawaii's economy, generate $6,000,000 in taxes, and create twenty-three hundred new jobs.

Agriculture also impacts rural development including activities which affect the well-being of rural populations, the provision of basic needs such as food, the development of human capital, the creation of employment opportunities, and the establishment of agricultural processors and related agribusiness.

The legislature finds that the department of agriculture's goal to integrate programs to develop Hawaii's agriculture and ensure its food security is imperative.  The legislature finds that in addressing these issues, coordination between the agricultural, transportation, and business industries, research organizations, and federal and state agencies is necessary.

     The legislature also finds that an agricultural development and food security program must be established to encompass all aspects of agriculture, from farm-to-market.  The farm-to-market concept, although linear, includes interrelationships between private and public sectors to develop and improve agriculture in the State.  The goals of the agricultural development and food security program are to:

     (1)  Position the agricultural industry to be sustainable at a level above critical mass;

     (2)  Increase locally grown and produced commodities in the marketplace;

     (3)  Expand agricultural exports both domestically and internationally and reestablish Hawaii as a global leader in agriculture and agricultural technologies;

     (4)  Develop sustainability and self-sufficiency in crops of interest; and

     (5)  Protect Hawaii's agriculture, environment, and natural resources.

The agricultural development and food security program will provide an overall concept, which shall be overseen by the department of agriculture, in the development of agriculture in areas including but not limited to farm inputs, labor, biosecurity, food safety, sustainability, market development, and research and development.  Although it may not currently have adequate resources, the department of agriculture is the government agency best positioned to oversee the development of agriculture, with active participation from the agricultural industry, transportation interests, the University of Hawaii college of tropical agriculture and human resources, public and private research entities, and federal and state agencies.

The concept of farm-to-market includes subsystems which are not necessarily under the department of agriculture's purview but which are critical to the development of agriculture.  These subsystems include but are not limited to: farm inputs, pest management programs, food safety, distribution and biosecurity systems, industry and market development, and policy issues.

The purpose of this Act is to authorize the department of agriculture to develop, coordinate, and integrate and develop funding for new and existing programs, facilities, and projects to promote the development of agriculture and ensure food security within the State, by taking a holistic approach from farm-to-market.  Further, this Act makes it permissible to use funds from the agricultural development and food security special fund to pay for the department's agricultural development and food security program.  This Act also repeals the sunset date of the barrel tax and the environmental response, energy, and food security tax.  Finally, this Act increases the amount of the environmental response, energy, and food security tax revenues deposited to the department of agriculture and department of business, economic development, and tourism.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 141, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new part to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Part   .  Agricultural development and food security program

     §141-A  Agricultural development and food security program; establishment.  There shall be established within the department of agriculture an agricultural development and food security program that shall:

     (1)  Provide oversight, administration, coordination, revenue development, and funding to develop Hawaii's agriculture industry from farm-to-market;

     (2)  Interface with private and public organizations and agencies to work toward the goals and objectives of the agricultural development and food security program; and

     (3)  Identify other relevant state and federal laws to ensure that the agricultural development and food security program complies with all relevant laws.

     §141-B  Objectives of the agricultural development and food security program.  The objectives of the agricultural development and food security program shall be to:

     (1)  Measure and increase agricultural sustainability and measure and improve the health of the State's agricultural industry;

     (2)  Develop and implement programs to assist farm, nursery, and ranch production;

     (3)  Coordinate, fund, and establish agricultural industry development programs;

     (4)  Develop and implement programs to increase agricultural exports both domestically and internationally and reestablish Hawaii as a global leader in agriculture and agricultural technologies;

     (5)  Develop and implement concepts and programs to expand the locally-grown share of the State's food market;

     (6)  Support and assist in development of farm-to-school programs;

     (7)  Develop and implement research and technology transfer programs for areas including varietals, treatment, pest and disease management, diagnostics, and farm inputs;

     (8)  Support and coordinate with other programs within the department of agriculture such as infrastructure development, biosecurity, and food safety; and

     (9)  Review, coordinate, update, oversee, and comment on government policies that affect the State's agricultural development and food security.

     §141-C  General actions to achieve objectives.  To achieve the objectives of the agricultural development and food security program, the department of agriculture shall plan for and, within available legislative appropriations, implement the following:

     (1)  Work with government agencies and the agricultural industry to establish the agricultural development and food safety program;

     (2)  Establish, operate, or participate in establishing port facilities including temperature-controlled facilities, as appropriate, where multiple government agencies may inspect, sample, test, quarantine, disinfect, fumigate, treat, or destroy agricultural commodities;

     (3)  Perform inspections, sampling, testing, and certifications in an efficient, effective, and expeditious manner;

     (4)  Develop and implement programs for education and development for the agricultural industry to comply with rules, regulations, and laws; and

     (5)  Collect and analyze food safety and security data and present an annual summary to be made available to the public of corrective action, reports, and trends based on established standards and performance objectives.

     For the purposes of this section, "agricultural commodities" means any grain, livestock, poultry, fruit, plant, timber, nursery, or any other item produced from agricultural activities, including those items listed in section 141-2(1)."

     SECTION 3.  Chapter 141, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by designating sections 141-1 through 141-10 as part I and inserting a title before section 141-1 to read as follows:

"PART I. GENERAL PROVISIONS"

     SECTION 4.  Section 141-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§141-2  Rules.  Subject to chapter 91, the department of agriculture shall adopt, amend, and repeal rules not inconsistent with law, for and concerning:

     (1)  The introduction, transportation, and propagation of trees, shrubs, herbs, and other plants;

     (2)  The quarantine, inspection, fumigation, disinfection, destruction, or exclusion, either upon introduction into the State[,] or at any time or place within the State, of any nursery-stock, tree, shrub, herb, vine, cut-flower, cutting, graft, scion, bud, seed, leaf, root, or rhizome; any nut, fruit, or vegetable; any grain, cereal, or legume in the natural or raw state; any moss, hay, straw, dry-grass, or other forage; any unmanufactured log, limb, or timber; or any other plant growth or plant product unprocessed or in the raw state; any sand, soil, or earth; any live bird, reptile, insect, or other animal, in any stage of development, that is in addition to the so-called domestic animals, which are provided for in section 142-2; and any box, barrel, crate, or other containers in which the articles, substances, or objects have been transported or contained, and any packing material used in connection therewith, that is or may be diseased or infested with insects or likely to assist in the transmission or dissemination of any insect or plant disease injurious, harmful, or detrimental, or likely to become injurious, harmful, or detrimental to the agricultural or horticultural industries or the forests of the State, or that is or may be in itself injurious, harmful, or detrimental to the same [(included therein may be] including rules governing the transportation of any of the articles, substances, or objects enumerated [above] in this [section] paragraph between different localities on any one of the islands within the State[)];

     (3)  The prohibition of importation into the State, from any or all foreign countries or from other parts of the United States, or the shipment from one island within the State to another island therein, or the transportation from one part or locality of any island to another part or locality of the same island, of any specific article, substance, or object or class of articles, substances, or objects, among those enumerated above in this section, that is diseased or infested with insects or likely to assist in the transmission or dissemination of any insect or plant disease injurious, harmful, or detrimental or likely to be injurious, harmful, or detrimental to the agricultural or horticultural industries, or the forests of the State, or that is or may be in itself injurious, harmful, or detrimental to the same;

     (4)  The preparation by cargo carriers of manifests of cargo transported into the State or between islands of the State and the submission of the manifests to the department[;and] of agriculture;

     (5)  The manner in which agricultural product promotion and research activities may be undertaken, after coordinating with the agribusiness development corporation[.]; and

     (6)  The implementation and promotion of the agricultural development and food security program.

     All rules adopted under this section shall have the force and effect of law."

     SECTION 5.  Section 141-10, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:

     "(c)  Subject to legislative appropriation, moneys in the special fund may be expended for the following purposes:

     (1)  The awarding of grants to farmers for agricultural production or processing activity;

     (2)  The acquisition of real property for agricultural production or processing activity;

     (3)  The improvement of real property, dams, reservoirs, irrigation systems, and transportation networks necessary to promote agricultural production or processing activity, including investigative studies to identify and assess necessary improvements to dams, reservoirs, irrigation systems, and transportation networks;

     (4)  The purchase of equipment necessary for agricultural production or processing activity;

     (5)  The conduct of research on and testing of agricultural products and markets;

     (6)  The funding of agricultural inspector positions within the department of agriculture;

     (7)  The promotion and marketing of agricultural products grown or raised in the State;

     (8)  Water quality testing and improvement; [and]

     (9)  The funding of the agricultural development and food security program established under section 141-A; and

    [(9)] (10) Any other activity intended to increase agricultural production or processing that may lead to reduced importation of food, fodder, or feed from outside the State."

     SECTION 6.  Section 243-3.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

     "(a)  In addition to any other taxes provided by law, subject to the exemptions set forth in section 243-7, there is hereby imposed a state environmental response, energy, and food security tax on each barrel or fractional part of a barrel of petroleum product sold by a distributor to any retail dealer or end user of petroleum product, other than a refiner.  The tax shall be $1.05 on each barrel or fractional part of a barrel of petroleum product that is not aviation fuel; provided that of the tax collected pursuant to this subsection:

     (1)  5 cents of the tax on each barrel shall be deposited into the environmental response revolving fund established under section 128D-2;

     (2)  [15] 25 cents of the tax on each barrel shall be deposited into the energy security special fund established under section 201-12.8;

     (3)  [10] 30 cents of the tax on each barrel shall be deposited into the energy systems development special fund established under section 304A-2169; and

     (4)  [15] 45 cents of the tax on each barrel shall be deposited into the agricultural development and food security special fund established under section 141-10.

     The tax imposed by this subsection shall be paid by the distributor of the petroleum product."

     SECTION 7.  Act 253, Session Laws of Hawaii 2007, is amended by amending section 8 to read as follows:

     "SECTION 8.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2007; provided that sections [304A-C,] 304A-D[,] and 304A-E, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall be repealed on June 30, 2012."

     SECTION 8.  Act 73, Session Laws of Hawaii 2010, is amended by amending section 14 to read as follows:

     "SECTION 14.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2010[; provided that sections 2,3,4, and 7, of this Act shall be repealed on June 30, 2015, and sections 128D-2, 201-12.8 and 243-3.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall be reenacted in the form in which they read on June 30, 2010]."

     SECTION 9.  There is appropriated out of the agricultural development and food security special fund the sum of $4,000,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2012-2013 to establish the agricultural development and food security program.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of agriculture for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 10.  In codifying the new sections added by section 2 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.

     SECTION 11.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 12.  This Act shall take effect on June 30, 2012.

 

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

Report Title:

Department of Agriculture; Agricultural Development and Food Security Program; Appropriation

 

Description:

Creates an agricultural development and food security program from the agricultural development and food security special fund.  Repeals the sunset date of the energy security special fund.  Increases barrel tax allotment to energy security special fund, energy systems development special fund, and agricultural development and food security special fund.  Makes an appropriation for the agricultural development and food security program.

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.