Bill Text: HI SB484 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Relating To Food Security.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-12-01 - Carried over to 2020 Regular Session. [SB484 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2020-SB484-Introduced.html

---

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	484
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO FOOD SECURITY.

 

 

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

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that Hawaii is located approximately two thousand five hundred miles from the continental United States.  About eighty-five to ninety per cent of Hawaii's food is imported, which makes Hawaii particularly vulnerable to natural disasters and global events that disrupt shipping and other modes of transporting food.  Furthermore, the economic impact of food import replacement is significant.  Food expenditures of local consumers from 2004 to 2005 totaled $3,700,000,000.  Assuming that eighty-five per cent of the food consumed in the State is imported, that means $3,145,000,000 of food expenditures leave the State each year.  Growing food within the State enables the expenditures on food to remain in the local economy.

     The office of planning, in cooperation with the department of agriculture, issued a report in October 2012, titled Increased Food Security and Food Self-Sufficiency Strategy:  A State Strategic/Functional Plan Prepared in Accordance with HRS Chapter 226 Hawaii State Plan and the Hawaii Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy.  The executive summary of the report states in pertinent part:

     The purpose of the Increased Food Security and Food Self-Sufficiency Strategy (Strategy) is to increase the amount of locally grown food consumed by Hawaii residents.  This will increase food self-sufficiency which is a component of food security.  The Strategy is a living document intended as a first step toward continued dialog and implementation.

     The three strategic objectives of the Increased Food Security and Food Self-Sufficiency Strategy are:

     (1)  Increasing demand for and access to locally grown foods;

     (2)  Increasing production of locally grown foods; and

     (3)  Providing policy and organizational support to meet food self-sufficiency needs.

     The legislature further finds that the development of higher education systems in Hawaii to promote understanding of sustainable food production and training a new generation of students for jobs in the sustainable food and agriculture sector are essential parts of meeting the strategic objectives of the Increased Food Security and Food Self-Sufficiency Strategy.

     The purpose of this Act is to improve food security and self-sufficiency in the State by:

     (1)  Encouraging the development and expansion of higher education focused on sustainable food systems within the State; and

     (2)  Appropriating funds to achieve that objective.

     SECTION 2.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $1,700,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2019-2020 for the community food systems program at the University of Hawaii West Oahu to expand upon its existing education for sustainable agricultural food production by:

     (1)  Establishing scholarships for underrepresented students to enroll in the sustainable community food systems program at the University of Hawaii West Oahu;

     (2)  Creating job and on-site training opportunities by generating positions for a full-time University of Hawaii West Oahu garden manager/educator and part-time student assistants for the University of Hawaii West Oahu student organic garden at the University of Hawaii West Oahu; and

     (3)  Implementing collaborative research projects, hosting conferences and public education events on food system sustainability with University of Hawaii colleagues, conducting program outreach and recruitment, and employing additional staff and faculty to advance a more sustainable and equitable food system in Hawaii as the director of the program deems necessary.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the University of Hawaii West Oahu for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 3.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2019.

 

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

Report Title:

University of Hawaii; Food Security; Appropriation

 

Description:

Appropriates funds for the University of Hawaii West Oahu to expand its existing programs and develop new means to increase food security and self-sufficiency in the State.

 

 

 

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