Bill Text: HI SB335 | 2021 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relating To Agriculture.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2021-03-19 - The committee(s) on AGR recommend(s) that the measure be deferred. [SB335 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2021-SB335-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
335 |
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THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021 |
S.D. 2 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
BE IT
ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the agribusiness development corporation was established in 1994, to address the issues of large tracts of land becoming available due to the downsizing of the sugar and pineapple industries.
The legislature further finds that Hawaii now faces different issues in agriculture, mainly sustainable agriculture and local food production. According to the agribusiness development corporation's 2019 report to the legislature, the corporation manages over twenty-two thousand acres of public agricultural lands with significant potential to shape the State's agricultural public policy toward the goal of food self‑sufficiency. The lack of affordable agricultural land with long-term leases is cited as a key inhibitor of the growth and expansion of local agriculture.
The purpose of this part is to:
(1) Ensure that the agribusiness development corporation prioritizes food production for local consumption; and
(2) Ensure transparency and accountability by requiring the department of agriculture and agribusiness development corporation to submit reports to the legislature on the department's and corporation's leasing activities.
SECTION 2. Chapter 141, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part I to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§141- Reporting requirements; leased lands. (a)
The department of agriculture shall submit
an annual report to the legislature, and post the report on the department's website,
no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session. The report shall contain the following information
regarding the department's leased lands:
(1) The number of lots leased by size and
island;
(2) The number of lots leased that contain
protocols and conditions supporting specialty farm products by island;
(3) A list of the vacant parcels and unoccupied
parcels in the leasing process by island, including the parcel size, location, and
date the parcel was last occupied by a tenant; and
(4) A description of any lease sales or transfers
by lessees approved by the board of agriculture, including:
(A) A description of the type of farm products
produced by the transferring lessee and the farm products to be produced by the
accepting lessee on the leased lands; and
(B) The date and description of the transferring
lessee's last lease approved by the board of agriculture."
SECTION 3. Section 163D-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"[[]§163D-1[]] Findings
and purpose. The legislature finds
that the downsizing of the sugar and pineapple industries is presenting an
unprecedented opportunity for the conversion of agriculture into a dynamic growth
industry[.], including local food production. Within the next decade, seventy-five thousand
acres of agricultural lands and fifty million gallons per day of irrigation
water are expected to be released by plantations. The downsizing of the sugar and pineapple
industries will idle a valuable inventory of supporting infrastructure
including irrigation systems, roads, drainage systems, processing facilities, workshops,
and warehouses. The challenge to
government and business is to conserve and convert the arable lands and their
associated production infrastructure in a timely manner into new productive uses,
including local food production, that are based upon strategies developed
from detailed marketing analysis and monitoring of local, national, and
international opportunities. Constantly
evolving economies require an aggressive and dynamic leadership for the
promotion and development of agricultural enterprises, and centralized
leadership to coordinate industry development, provide industry-wide services,
provide marketing assistance, and facilitate investments and coventures in viable enterprises.
The
purpose of this chapter is to create a vehicle and process to make optimal use
of agricultural assets for the economic, environmental, and social benefit of
the people of Hawaii. This chapter
establishes a public corporation to administer an aggressive and dynamic
agribusiness development program. The
corporation shall coordinate and administer programs to assist agricultural
enterprises to facilitate the transition of agricultural infrastructure from
plantation operations into other agricultural enterprises, including those promoting
local food production, to carry on the marketing analysis to direct
agricultural industry evolution, and to provide the leadership for the
development, financing, improvement, or enhancement of agricultural enterprises[.]
and local food production."
SECTION 4. Section 163D-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding two new definitions to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:
""Local
food production" means crops, livestock, poultry, and other foods that are
grown and raised in Hawaii, at least in part, for direct consumption by Hawaii residents
and visitors.
"Primary business" means at least fifty per cent of the entity's production or harvest is distributed for local consumption in Hawaii."
SECTION 5. Section 163D-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§163D-3 Agribusiness development corporation; board of directors; established. (a) There is established the agribusiness development corporation, which shall be a public body corporate and politic and an instrumentality and agency of the State. The corporation shall be headed by a board of directors. The corporation shall be placed within the department of agriculture for administrative purposes, but the corporation may later incorporate as a nonprofit corporation if this proves desirable to further its objectives; provided that such reorganization as a nonprofit corporation shall not adversely affect the federal tax status of the interest on any bonds issued to finance any project or project facility.
(b) The board of directors of the corporation shall
consist of eleven voting members, of whom eight shall be appointed by the
governor. The terms of these eight
members shall be four years; provided that, commencing on July 1, 2005, the
governor shall reduce the terms of those initially appointed so as to provide,
as nearly as can be, for the expiration of an equal number of terms at
intervals of one year. The eight members
shall be selected on the basis of their knowledge, experience, and proven expertise
in small and large businesses within the agricultural industry, agricultural
economics, banking, real estate, finance, promotion, marketing, and management.
Of these eight members [one]:
(1) One shall be from the city and county
of Honolulu[, one];
(2) One shall be from the county of
Hawaii[, one];
(3) One shall be from the county of
Maui[, one];
(4) One shall be from the county of
Kauai[, four];
(5) Two shall be representatives of local farmers' or ranchers' associations, one each to be nominated by the chairs of the house of representatives and senate committees on agriculture; and
(6) Two shall be appointed at-large.
The director of business, economic development, and tourism; the chairperson of the board of agriculture; and the chairperson of the board of land and natural resources, or their designated representatives, shall be ex-officio, voting members of the board. All members shall continue in office until their respective successors have been appointed and qualified. The board shall annually elect its chairperson from among its members; provided that the chairperson shall not be an ex-officio member.
(c) The members of the board shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
(d) The board shall appoint an executive director, who shall serve at the pleasure of the board and shall be exempt from chapter 76. The salary of the executive director shall be set by the board.
(e) The board, through its executive director, may appoint officers, agents, and employees; prescribe their duties and qualifications; and fix their salaries, without regard to chapter 76.
(f)
Meetings of the board shall be subject to
the requirements set forth in part I of chapter 92."
SECTION 6. Section 163D-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
"(a) The corporation shall prepare the Hawaii agribusiness plan which shall define and establish goals, objectives, policies, and priority guidelines for its agribusiness development strategy. The plan shall include but not be limited to:
(1) An inventory of agricultural lands with suitable adequate water resources that are or will become available due to the downsizing of the sugar and pineapple industries that can be used to meet present and future agricultural production needs;
(2) An inventory of agricultural infrastructure that will be abandoned by sugar and pineapple industries such as irrigation systems, drainage systems, processing facilities, and other accessory facilities;
(3) An analysis of imported agricultural products and the potential for increasing local production to replace imported products in a manner that complements existing local producers and increases Hawaii's agricultural self-sufficiency;
(4) Alternatives in the establishment of sound financial programs to promote the development of diversified agriculture;
(5) Feasible strategies for the promotion, marketing, and distribution of Hawaii agricultural products in local, national, and international markets;
(6) Programs to promote and facilitate the absorbing of displaced agricultural workers into alternative agricultural enterprises;
(7) Strategies to insure the provision of adequate air and surface transportation services and supporting facilities to support the agricultural industry in meeting local, national, and international market needs;
(8) Proposals to improve the gathering of data and the timely presentation of information on market demands and trends that can be used to plan future harvests and production; and
(9) Strategies for federal and state
legislative actions that will promote the development and enhancement of
Hawaii's agricultural industries[.], and in particular local food production."
SECTION 7. Section 163D-15.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§163D-15.6 Commitment and preservation of agricultural
leases. (a) The [agribusiness development]
corporation shall work toward obtaining commitments from landowners in the leeward
and central districts of Oahu that their agricultural leases shall be for a
duration of twenty or more years and shall not be amended or revoked to allow
for a nonagricultural use of the land; provided that for lands in central Oahu
acquired under Act 234, Session Laws of Hawaii 2008, the agricultural leases
shall be for no more than fifty-five years.
(b) To further ensure the preservation of
agriculture in the leeward and central districts of Oahu, the [agribusiness development]
corporation shall monitor the agricultural leases of lands using the water from
the Waiahole water system. In the event
of any proposed amendment or revocation of any lease, the corporation shall do
all things within its powers under this chapter to protect and defend the interests
of the agricultural leaseholders to ensure the continuation of agricultural use
for those lands.
(c)
Beginning January 1, 2022, the department
of agriculture and corporation shall annually lease or license at least fifty per
cent of land eligible for lease or license or lease or license renewal, to agricultural
operations whose primary business is food or crop production for local consumption,
or for purposes that support food or crop production for local consumption."
PART
II
SECTION
8. The purpose of this part is to require
the agribusiness development corporation and its board of directors to implement
the recommendations contained in the state auditor's January 2021 audit report.
SECTION
9. No later than January 1, 2023, the agribusiness
development corporation and its board of directors shall implement in full the recommendations
set out in pages 35 through 40 of the Audit of the Agribusiness Development Corporation:
A Report to the Legislature of the State
of Hawaii, Office of the Auditor, Report No. 21-01, dated January 2021.
The
agribusiness development corporation and its board of directors shall submit to
the legislature, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular
session of 2022, a joint interim report of their respective progress in implementing
the foregoing recommendations; and no later than December 31, 2023, a joint final
report of their overall progress in implementing the foregoing recommendations.
PART III
SECTION 10. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 11. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.
Report Title:
HDOA; Agribusiness Development Corporation; Diversified Agriculture; Leased Lands; Reporting Requirements; Local Food Production; Enterprise; Auditor's Report; Implementation of Auditor's Recommendations
Description:
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
