CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 52

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2015

RE:    H.B. No. 573

       S.D. 1

       C.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

Sir and Madam:

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the House of Representatives to the amendments proposed by the Senate in H.B. No. 573, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HAWAII GOOD AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

     The purpose of this measure is to help preserve and protect the agricultural resources of Hawaii and help the State achieve its goals of food security, sustainability, and self-sufficiency by:

(1)  Establishing a permanent Hawaii Good Agricultural Practices Program within the Department of Agriculture; and

(2)  Appropriating unspecified sums for fiscal biennium 2015-2017 for the implementation of the Program.

     Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

(1)  Appropriating $300,000 for fiscal year 2015-2016 to implement the Hawaii Good Agricultural Practices Program;

     (2)  Changing its effective date to July 1, 2015; and

(3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for style, clarity, and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 573, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 573, S.D. 1, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE

ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

____________________________ RUSSELL E. RUDERMAN, Chair	____________________________ CLIFT TSUJI, Co-Chair
____________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Co-Chair	____________________________ RICHARD H.K. ONISHI, Co-Chair