Bill Text: HI SB2960 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To Farmers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-07-05 - Act 194, 07/03/2024 (Gov. Msg. No. 1295). [SB2960 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2024-SB2960-Introduced.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
2960 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to farmers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1.
The legislature finds that nonfarming use of agricultural lands has
significantly increased over the past few decades. Homes on agricultural lands are often
marketed as "gentlemen estates" where wealthy individuals can
purchase large parcels of land on which to live and pursue farming as a hobby.
The legislature further finds that nonagricultural
use of agricultural lands conflicts with article XI, section 3, of the Hawaii
State Constitution which mandates that the State "conserve and protect
agricultural lands, promote diversified agriculture, increase agricultural self-sufficiency
and assure the availability of agriculturally suitable lands."
The purpose of this Act is to clarify that
agricultural lots shall be used for farming by:
(1) Requiring that purchasers and lessees of farm lots use the lots to produce food or conduct other agricultural activities;
(2) Reducing the land use conflicts arising from encroachment of nonagricultural uses into agricultural areas;
(3) Discouraging
the development or subdivision of lands within the agricultural district for residential
uses, thereby preserving agricultural lands and allowing proper planning of
land use and infrastructure development; and
(4) Imposing
farming requirements so that owners, residents, and other users of agricultural
property or neighboring properties are aware that they may be subjected to noise,
odors, dust, smoke, sounds from machinery, odors from manure, and other inconveniences
and discomfort arising from normal and accepted agricultural practices and
operations.
SECTION 2. Section 171-67, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§171-67 Restrictions;
conditions. In addition to [such]
other restrictions or conditions that may be established by the board [of
land and natural resources] to carry out the purpose of this chapter and [of
the provisions of] the state constitution, all sale, lease, or lease with
option to purchase, of a farm lot or ranch lot shall be subject to the
following conditions[, which] that shall be covenants running
with the land:
(1) The lot shall be used for farm purposes only;
(2) The purchaser or lessee shall reside on the premises granted; provided that with the consent of the board, the purchaser or lessee may live off the premises if the purchaser's or lessee's residence is within a reasonable distance therefrom;
(3) The purchaser or lessee shall derive the major portion of the purchaser's or lessee's total annual income from the production of the crops or products for which production the land is granted to the purchaser or lessee; provided that this restriction shall not apply if the purchaser or lessee becomes enfeebled or is widowed;
(4) In the case of a lease, those provisions set forth in sections 171-35, 171-36 and 171-37, unless otherwise specifically provided in this section;
(5) In the case of a fee simple sale, the improvement required and the specific use or uses intended;
(6) For a period of five
years after the issuance of a patent or lease, the purchaser or lessee shall
not sell, sublet, assign, transfer, or in other manner dispose or encumber the
whole or any part of the farm lot to any person not qualified to take a farm
lot except by way of mortgage, testamentary bequest or devise, intestate
succession, or except to a purchaser at or after sale upon the foreclosure of a
mortgage[.];
(7) Within two
years after the issuance of a patent or lease, the purchaser or lessee shall submit
a farm plan to the department or the responsible governing agency exercising
enforcement and jurisdictional oversight;
(8) Within five
years after the issuance of a patent or lease and every five years thereafter,
the purchaser or lessee shall submit one of the following to the department:
(A) Documentation
of a current organic certification from the United States Department of Agriculture;
(B) A
current plan from the United States Department of Agriculture;
(C) Documentation
of a current food safety certification from the United States Department of Agriculture;
or
(D) Receipts
for expenditures made within the most recent five years demonstrating an
investment of not less than $10,000 in farm equipment, fertilizers, and soil
amendments for use on the farm lot;
provided
that this restriction shall not apply if the purchaser or lessee becomes
enfeebled or is widowed; and
(9) Each year, the
purchaser or lessee shall submit to the department:
(A) Excise
tax receipts demonstrating annual sales of food generated from the farm lot
totaling not less than $1,000;
(B) Evidence
of donations of food generated from the farm lot made to one or more
organizations exempt from federal taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and valued at not less than $1,000;
or
(C) A
combination of sales and donations under paragraphs (A) and (B) totaling not
less than $1,000;
provided
that this restriction shall not apply if the purchaser or lessee becomes
enfeebled or is widowed.
The violation of any [of such]
restrictions or conditions established under this section shall be
sufficient for the board, upon failure of the purchaser or lessee within a
reasonable period of time to remedy the default after notice thereof as
provided in section 171-20 to take possession of the premises without demand or
previous entry and with or without legal process and thereby determine the
estate, subject to the provisions contained in section 171-21."
SECTION 3. Section 171-68, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (a) and (b) to read as follows:
"(a) A person shall be eligible to apply for a farm if the person has the qualifications as follows:
(1) The person has been a resident in the State at any time for at least three years;
(2) The person is a bona fide farmer:
(A) Who has not less
than two [years'] years of experience as a full-time farmer; [or]
(B) Who was an
owner-operator of an established farm conducting a substantial farming
operation and who for a substantial period of the person's life resided on a
farm or depended on farm income for the person's livelihood; [or]
(C) Who has been a
farm tenant or farm laborer or other individual, who has for the two years last
preceding the person's application obtained the major portion of the person's
income from farming operations; [or]
(D) Who has a college
degree in agriculture; [or]
(E) Who by reason of
ability, experience, and training as a vocational trainee is likely to
successfully operate a farm; [or]
(F) Who has qualified
for and received a commitment for a loan under the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant
Act as amended, or as may hereafter be amended, for the acquisition of a farm; [or]
(G) Who is displaced
from employment in an agricultural production enterprise; [or]
(H) Who is a member of the Hawaii Young Farmer Association or a Future Farmer of America graduate with two years of training with farming projects; or
(I) Who, if the person is a partnership,
corporation, or association, is an agricultural cooperative under chapter 421
and for which a combination of individuals owning not less than fifty-one per
cent of the agricultural cooperative satisfy the qualifications under this
section; and
(3) The
person meets [such] any other qualifications [as] the
board [of land and natural resources] may prescribe pursuant to section
171-6.
(b) No person shall be entitled to apply for a farm:
(1) Who, or whose [husband
or wife,] spouse, has previously taken or held land for farm or
homesteading under any certificate, lease, or agreement or under any homestead
lease or patent based thereon; or
(2) Who, or whose [husband
or wife,] spouse, or both of them, owns in fee simple other land in
the State, the combined area of which with the land in question exceeds eighty
acres; provided that:
(A) The ownership of a
residence lot or tract, not exceeding three acres in area, shall not disqualify
any person otherwise qualified from applying for and receiving any form of
farm; and
(B) Any person who
would otherwise qualify to take a farm lot shall not be disqualified by reason
of taking, holding, or owning land for farm or homesteading or
otherwise, if the land [so] taken, held, or owned becomes
unusable for the purpose of farming as defined in section 171-65."
SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED
BY: |
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Report Title:
Farming; Gentleman Estates; Bona Fide Farmers; Agricultural District
Description:
Requires
that lessees and purchasers of farm lots and ranch lots use that land for
farming and producing food. Authorizes
agricultural cooperatives to apply for farmlands.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
