STAND. COM. REP. NO. 842

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 1268

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 1268, S.D. 1, entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to make technical changes to the statutory definitions of "agricultural enterprise lands" and "non-agricultural park lands" for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Agriculture and Hawai‘i Farm Bureau.

Your Committee finds that Act 221, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022, created the Agricultural Enterprise Program within the Hawaii Department of Agriculture to give the Department the ability to lease lands managed by the Department for related agricultural activity, rather than solely for crop development and production. However, the definition of "agricultural enterprise lands" inadvertently created an inconsistency with the existing definition of "non-agricultural park lands" in chapter 166E, Hawaii Revised Statutes. This measure makes technical changes to the statutory definitions of "agricultural enterprise lands" and "non-agricultural park lands" to remedy the inconsistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1268, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

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

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KARL RHOADS, Chair