STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2800

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2641

       S.D. 2

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Water and Land, to which was referred S.B. No. 2641, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO IMPORTANT AGRICULTURAL LANDS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to establish a five-year moratorium on the development of agricultural lands located in the State for which general planning has not commenced.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by Hawaii Thousand Friends.  Testimony in support of the intent of this measure was submitted by the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation.  Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, Hawaii Reserves, Inc., Hawaii Association of Realtors, City and County of Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting, Land Use Research Foundation, and The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii.  The Department of Agriculture submitted testimony expressing concern with this measure.

     Your Committee notes that in 2005, the Legislature enacted Act 183, Session Laws of Hawaii 2005, implementing article XI, section 3, of the State Constitution regarding important agricultural lands.  Act 183 establishes policies and procedures for the identification of important agricultural lands and provides for a process to develop protection and incentive measures for important agricultural lands and agricultural viability.  Despite the enactment of Act 183, there has been ongoing delay with the identification of important agricultural lands.  This measure is intended to allow time for the identification of important agricultural lands without the ongoing loss of potential important agricultural lands to development.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Amending the effective date to July 1, 2050; and

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubtantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water and Land that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2641, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2641, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water and Land,

____________________________

CLAYTON HEE, Chair