SSCR2839

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2839

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: GOV. MSG. NO. 522

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

Madam:

Your Committee on Agriculture, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 522, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of:

Chairperson, Department of Agriculture

G.M. No. 522

SCOTT ENRIGHT,

for a term to expire 12-1-2014.

begs leave to report as follows:

Your Committee has reviewed the personal history and resume submitted by the nominee and finds Scott Enright to possess the requisite commitment, sincerity, dedication, and qualifications to be nominated as the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this nominee from Governor Neil Abercrombie; Department of Land and Natural Resources; Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Office of Planning; Department of Transportation; Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; Department of Accounting and General Services; Department of Budget and Finance; Department of Human Resources Development; Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; Commission on Water Resource Management; County of Hawaii Department of Research and Development; University of Hawaii at Hilo; Agribusiness Development Corporation; Ulupono Initiative; Maui Cattle Company; 4 Ag Hawaii; Kukaaiau Ranch, LLC; Hawaii Cattlemen's Council, Inc.; Ponoholo Ranch, Ltd.; Kualoa Ranch; Hawaii Tropical Flowers & Foliage Association, Kauai Chapter; Armstrong Produce; Syngenta Hawaii; Monsanto Co.; Meadow Gold Dairies; Sugarland Growers Inc.; KK Ranch; Paina Hawaii; Kauai County Farm Bureau; Hawaii Aquaculture & Aquaponics Association; Greenwell Farms; Hawaii Food Industry Association; Hawaii Fish Company Inc.; Hawaii Agriculture Research Center; Royal Kona Coffee Visitor Center Mill & Museum; Hawaii Coffee Association; Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation; Molokai Farm Bureau; Hawaii Food Manufacturers Association; Hawaii Coffee Growers Association; Kona Coffee Council; Kauai Island Utility Cooperative; Nalo Farms, Inc.; Hawaiian Landscape Company; Matsuda-Fukuyama Farms; Alexander & Baldwin, Inc.; Nature Conservancy; Young Brothers; Maui County Farm Bureau; Building Industry Association; DuPont Pioneer; Hashimoto Persimmon Farms; Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters; Hawaii Green Growth; The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii; Kalama Evans Construction, LLC; Kanalani Ohana Farm; Tea Chest; Kohala Center; Hawaii Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust; Hawaii 4-H Council; Aloha Products; RMA Sales; Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species; Hawaii Crop Improvement Association; Hawaii Floriculture and Nursery Association; and sixty-nine individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to the nominee from three individuals. Your Committee received comments from two individuals.

Mr. Enright earned a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of Hawaii at Hilo. He went on to earn a Master of Science in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University. Throughout his career, Mr. Enright has held a number of positions providing him with a wealth of experience in the agricultural industry in Hawaii. He served as the Orchard Superintendent for Kilauea Agronomic, managing field operations for a 500 acre guava orchard; as the Cultivation and Irrigation Superintendent for Hamakua Sugar Company, managing a 30,000 acre sugar plantation; as a Project Manager for ITC Water Management, Inc.; and as a Consultant to Cordon Technologies, LLC, planning and developing innovative agricultural techniques and conservation processes to increase food and energy independence and security on the Big Island. Since February 2012, he has served as Deputy to the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture.

Mr. Enright has also served on a number of commissions and boards in the community, including the Community Development Plan Steering Committee for Hamakua District, Environmental Management Commission for the County of Hawaii, and Hilo-Hamakua Community Development Corporation Board, and as Chair of the Board of the Agribusiness Development Corporation. He is currently the Co‑Chair of the Hawaii Invasive Species Council and the Interim Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture. Along with Mr. Enright's tremendous leadership and managerial skills, his extensive experience in sustainable agriculture and water management makes him ideally suited to be the Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Agriculture that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Agriculture,

____________________________

CLARENCE K. NISHIHARA, Chair