STAND. COM. REP. NO. 549

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2021

RE: H.B. No. 8

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Agriculture, to which was referred H.B. No. 8 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FOOD SECURITY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish a Hawaii Food Security Initiative Program within the Department of Agriculture to:

(1) Identify a plan for permanent food security for Hawaii, including deriving a majority of the State's food supply from locally-produced, sustainable, and regenerative sources by 2035;

(2) Recommend additional steps necessary to help increase food security; and

(3) Develop an assessment system to accurately determine how much food is locally produced in the State and how much food is imported into the State, using various criteria.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the University of Hawai‘i System, Hawaii Primary Care Association, Ulupono Initiative, and four individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Agriculture.

Your Committee finds that several portions of this measure are already being undertaken by the Department of Agriculture pursuant to Act 151, Session Laws of Hawaii 2019 (Act 151), which is an ongoing project that directs the Department to develop a strategic plan that identifies benchmarks for increased food production in Hawaii and increased exports of food crops and value-added agricultural products from Hawaii.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Deleting its substantive contents;

(2) Making identifying lands for producing food crops that may be grown locally using conventional, sustainable, and regenerative practices to replace imports one of the goals of the Department of Agriculture's strategic plan pursuant to Act 151;

(3) Changing its effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Agriculture that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 8, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 8, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

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

____________________________

MARK J. HASHEM, Chair