Bill Text: HI SB937 | 2013 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Hawaii Food Resiliency Initiative; Hawaii Food Resiliency Task Force; Department of Agriculture; Appropriation ($)

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 24-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2013-03-21 - Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Belatti, Say excused (2). [SB937 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2013-SB937-Amended.html

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STAND. COM. REP. NO. 820

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 937

       S.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 937, S.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HAWAII FOOD RESILIENCY,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to promote food resiliency in the State.

 

     More specifically, this measure:

 

(1)  Establishes a food resiliency initiative under the Department of Agriculture to achieve measurable goals of food self-sufficiency;

 

(2)  Establishes a food resiliency branch in the Department of Agriculture;

 

(3)  Establishes a food resiliency task force to set forth benchmarks for the food resiliency initiative to achieve; and

 

(4)  Provides funding for the food resiliency initiative.

 

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Ulupono Initiative.  Your Committee received written comments in opposition to this measure from the Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii.  Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Office of Planning and the Department of Human Resources Development.

 

     Your Committee finds that food import replacement has positive economic impacts for the State, including the retention of money in the State, which will have a multiplier effect and thereby increase tax revenues and jobs.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

(1)  Deleting partnership with the Hawaii clean energy initiative program and the development of farm-to-school program as activities of the Hawaii food resiliency initiative;

 

(2)  Adding increased procurement of local commodities by government agencies as an activity of the Hawaii food resiliency initiative;

 

(3)  Authorizing rather than requiring the Department of Agriculture to submit annual reports to the Legislature on the food resiliency initiative and specifying that the first report is due with the regular session of 2016;

 

(4)  Changing to 2015 the implementation date for the Department of Agriculture's plans to transition the State and counties to food resilient economies;

 

(5)  Deleting language that establishes a food resiliency branch in the Department of Agriculture;

 

(6)  Reducing the number of members on the Hawaii food resiliency task force by deleting:

 

(A)  The food resiliency administrator of the food resiliency branch;

 

(B)  The Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism;

 

(C)  Two of the three members to be designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and

 

(D)  Two of the three members to be designated by the President of the Senate;

 

(7)  Designating the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture or the Chairperson's designee to chair the task force;

 

(8)  Clarifying that the representative from each county's private economic development board shall be designated by the respective county;

 

(9)  Requiring the task force to submit their plan and follow-up report, respectively, to the Legislature prior to the regular sessions of 2015 and 2016;

 

(10) Deleting language that authorizes moneys in the agricultural development and food security special fund to be used specifically to fund departmental positions related to the food resiliency initiatives;

 

(11) Adding language that authorizes moneys in the agricultural development and food security special fund to be used to fund positions in the Department of Agriculture other than agricultural inspector positions;

 

(12) Deleting the appropriations from agricultural development and food security special fund for the food resiliency administrator and staff positions;

 

(13) Changing the effective date of the measure to July 1, 2050, to promote continued discussion of the measure; and

 

(14) Making technical nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and style.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 937, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 937, S.D. 2.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

 

		____________________________ DAVID Y. IGE, Chair