STAND. COM. REP. NO. 14

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 463

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 463 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO GARDENS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Authorize the Department of Education to develop programs to encourage the development of gardens on school property; and

(2) Authorize the Hawaii Community Development Authority to develop programs that provide incentives to establish gardens in housing projects, communities, and schools.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawai‘i Farm Bureau and two individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Education.

Your Committee finds that garden programs have the potential to strengthen partnerships between state agencies, improve access to healthy food options, and increase consumption of locally grown fruits and vegetables by Hawaii's youth and community members. Your Committee further finds that garden programs develop healthy food systems and reinforce positive nutrition behaviors that will reduce the risk for chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and some cancers. Therefore, your Committee believes that supporting garden programs in schools, housing projects, and communities will promote public interest by encouraging proper eating habits, supporting local agriculture, and fostering interest in gardening among students and adults alike.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Specifying that the growing of edible and native Hawaiian plants shall be made a priority in school gardens; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 463, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 463, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

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

________________________________

MICHELLE N. KIDANI, Chair